The Remarkable Life of 104-year-old Wanda Johnson • Page 7

M arch 20 – A pril 2, 2019

Senior Living Issue

IN THIS ISSUE:
Pg. 10 PoemCity Celebrates
10 Years A
Pothole Season
Scourge for Drivers and City Staff
By Phil Dodd
Pg. 11 New Novel Features

Girl King Arthur
Pg. 14 Barre Company
Grows Greens Year Round
U.S. Postage PAID
W
as this the worst winter ever for potholes in
Montpelier? Retired attorney Jim Clemons,
who was born in 1951, raised in Montpelier,
and now lives in East Montpelier, thinks so. “I’ve never
seen the potholes in Montpelier so pervasive,” he said.
His opinion is likely shared by a lot of drivers who have
been dodging innumerable potholes (and frost heaves)
this winter, both in the city and
which does not last long—to fill potholes, and patching
can’t be done when the potholes are filled with snow, ice,
or water, McCardle said. Of course, city workers have
also been busy with other pressing matters this winter,
such as plowing a lot of snow and repairing water main
breaks.
A more long-lasting solution will come when the local
asphalt plant opens up in mid-

around the state

Permit NO. 123
Montpelier, VT

April, McArdle said. The hot

PRSRT STD
ECRWSS

Tom McArdle, head of mix used to fill potholes later in

Montpelier’s Public Works
Department, was a bit more
cautious when asked the same
question. McArdle’s response: “I
think the potholes this year are
a little worse than usual, though
last season was pretty brutal as
well.” Climate extremes, such as
repeated freeze-thaw cycles and
frequent snow and rain episodes,
have taken a toll on the city’s
roads, he said. Water gets into Photo by Phil Dodd.
cracks in the pavement and,
when it freezes, can cause potholes to form, sometimes
Montpelier, VT 05601
the spring holds up better than
cold patch. “When the plant
opens, we are usually up there
on the first day or right after
that,” he noted.
Because the Bailey Street bridge
is in such bad shape, the city is
considering trucking in some hot
mix from Massachusetts soon to
make repairs there, he said. Hot
mix was already brought in this
winter to patch steep sections of
Nelson and Ridge streets where
a water main broke. But bringing in hot mix from out of

literally overnight. state is “tremendously expensive,” McArdle noted.

McArdle noted that potholes started appearing early The Bailey Street bridge is probably one of the more
P.O. Box 1143

in the winter and “we haven’t had good conditions to hazardous roads in the city right now although Stone
The Bridge

patch.” At this time of year, the city uses cold patch—

Continued on Page 4

We’re online! montpelierbridge.com or vtbridge.com

PAGE 2 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 3
HEARD ON THE STREET
Energy Entrepreneurs Sought for Summer Program
A Burlington business accelerator is seeking innovative, early stage energy companies
focused on reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the heating
and transportation sectors to participate in its 2019 climate economy entrepreneur
program in Burlington. Applications are being accepted through April 28.
Eight to 10 companies will be competitively selected from Vermont and throughout the
U.S. to work with climate economy leaders, industry experts, potential partners, and
investment professionals during three four-day onsite workshops over three months,
in addition to webinars and mentoring sessions between the workshops. Selected
participants will also be competing for a $25,000 non-equity prize, which will be
awarded to each of the top two companies through a peer-ranking system, as well as up
to two $10,000 prizes from Accel-VT Energy sponsor Burlington Electric Department
(BED). See accelvt.com for more information.
Montpelier Acupuncture Office Expanding To Williston
Integrative Acupuncture, at 156 Main Street in Montpelier, is expanding to a second
location at 373 Blair Park Road in Williston this month. The company has offered
acupuncture, massage therapy, cupping, and Chinese herbal medicine for the past ten
years.
Owner Kerry Boyle was one of the first acupuncturists to work on board cruise ships
worldwide, exposing guests to acupuncture care for back pain, motion sickness, anxiety,
and sleeplessness while on their vacations. Other acupuncturists at the firm are Jonathan
Fleming, Zizi Zolten-Chandler, Maria Leon, and Jennifer Etheridge, all nationally
board certified and licensed acupuncturists.
It will continue to provide acupuncture six days a week at its current location in
downtown Montpelier. For more information, visit acupunctureinvermont.com
Mayo Healthcare Celebrates 80 Years of Award-Winning Care
In the 1800s and early 1900s, a country doctor was an integral and invaluable part of
the community. William Barnabas Mayo was one such doctor, who, at the age of 23,
opened his office doors in Northfield on April 16, 1877. Dr. Mayo dreamed of building
a facility that would provide “care and treatment to the sick and injured.” Unfortunately
he died before it could become a reality, but in 1939, his long-time nurse, Cordelia
Delary, opened the doors of the Mayo Memorial Hospital on Vine Street in Northfield.
Nature Watch
by Nona Estrin
Artwork by Nona Estrin
E
nvironment— a word that had limited meaning when I was born—
is now in everyone’s thoughts. Young adults are demonstrating to
halt climate change now, H.205, a VT bill to protect bees and
other polinators by limiting highly toxic pesticides called “neonics,” passed
committee with an unanimous 8-0 vote. Now, to the House Floor. Single
use plastics are next. Good thing. Have you seen an ocean beach recently?
This year, Mayo Healthcare celebrates 80 years of providing award-winning senior care.
The main celebration will be at the Taste of Maple, Mayo’s annual fundraiser, which
takes place March 29 from 5:30 to 8 pm in the Milano ballroom at Norwich University.
It is a maple tasting extravaganza with a culinary competition, silent auction, and
bucket raffle. Participating are local chefs from Birchgrove Baking in Montpelier;
Mayo Healthcare, The Woods Lodge, Two Wooden Spoons, and Carrier Roasting in
Northfield; Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen and Morse Block Deli in Barre; and Black
Krim Tavern in Randolph. For more information, visit mayohc.org.
Parties in Garage Appeal to Hold Second Negotiation Session
City officials said representatives of both parties in an appeal of a permit issued by
the city Development Review Board for a proposed downtown parking garage will
hold a second negotiating session this week. Mayor Anne Watson said she hopes that
a settlement could be reached outside of the courtroom. The city said last week that
it had spent about $40,000 on legal fees on two separate challenges filed against the
project, which would build a city-owned parking structure next to a proposed Hampton
Inn and Suites hotel behind Capitol Plaza. A status conference is scheduled April 8 in
Vermont Environmental Court.
Fundraising Campaign
Five months into our $50,000 Bridge to the Future campaign, we are
almost 2/3 of the way to our goal. Thanks to all those who have already
given.
Please send your potentially tax-deductible donation to:
Friends of The Bridge, P.O. Box 1641, Montpelier, VT 05601.
You can also donate online at www.montpelierbridge.com/make-a-donation/
Bridge Community Media, Inc.
P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601 • Ph: 802-223-5112
Editor in Chief: Mike Dunphy
Managing Editor: Tom Brown
Publisher Emeritus: Nat Frothingham
Copy Editor: Larry Floersch
Calendar Editor: Marichel Vaught
Layout: Sarah Davin, Marichel Vaught
Sales Representatives: Rick McMahan
Distribution: Sarah Davin, Amy Lester, Carl Etnier
Board Members: Phil Dodd, Donny Osman, Jake Brown, Josh Fitzhugh, Larry Floersch, Greg Gerdel, Irene
Racz, Ivan Shadis, Ashley Witzenberger
Editorial: 223-5112, ext. 14 • mdunphy@montpelierbridge.com
Location: The Bridge office is located at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Stone Science Hall.
Subscriptions: You can receive The Bridge by mail for $50 a year. Make out your check to The Bridge, and
mail to The Bridge, PO Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.
montpelierbridge.com • facebook.com/thebridgenewspapervt
Twitter: @montpbridge • Instagram: @montpelierbridge
PAGE 4 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
Pothole Season
A Scourge for Drivers and City Staff
Cutters Way, Granite Street, and
the eastern end of Barre Street have
offered up plenty of gaping holes this
year. However, Steve Sease, a resident
of North Street, thinks his street
could be the worst.
On March 11, Sease said: “You can
dodge most of the potholes and
bumps on lower North Street, but for
about 200 yards between Mechanic
and Hillhead you have to just plow
through the minefield, at about
one mile per hour, listening to your
front end disintegrate. And when
you clear that mess, there is another
street-wide trap just past Hillhead
where experienced drivers are now
pulling so far to the right to avoid
the bump that their right-side tires
are off the pavement and onto dirt—a
far smoother ride than the so-called
pavement.”
McArdle said he would like to repave
North Street sooner, but it is not on
the list for work this summer. He also
said he wishes the city could get to
other streets such as Hubbard Street
at the Barre Street end, Spring Street
between Elm and Summer, and East
State Street, but those projects will
have to wait for future funding, too.
For a list of the roads in Montpelier
that will be repaved this summer, see
sidebar.
McArdle is disappointed that Gov.
Phil Scott’s administration has talked
about scaling back state road funding,
Continued from page 1
Potholes on Stone Cutters Way. Photo by Phil Dodd.
saying such a step is “going backward
and not keeping up with inf lation or
demand.” The city receives money for
care and maintenance and repaving
and rehabilitation projects for certain
heavily traveled roads.
For example, for this summer’s
repaving of the eastern end of Barre
Street, a Class 2 road, Montpelier
will receive $175,000 from the
state—the maximum Class 2 grant—
and will spend about $120,000 of
its own money, he said. Obtaining
funds from the state for Class 2 road
repairs is very competitive, McCardle
added, especially since a few years
ago when Montpelier was lumped
into a transportation district with
Public Works
water and wastewater) by about $1
million, with the increases spread
over five years. Today, the city spends
about $600,000 of its own money on
repaving each year, McArdle said.
Should the city’s repaving budget
be increased further? “The paving
budget has been increased to a ‘steady
state’ level to achieve the established
pavement condition index goals,”
McArdle said. “We support this
funding plan.”
Of course, if the city had a million
dollars on hand, “I could spend
it right now,” he said. “But with
everything paid for by the property
tax, we have to be careful.”
Chittenden County, which has many Montpelier Roads Scheduled
Class 2 roads. For Repaving This Summer
Montpelier could use more state • Stone Cutters Way.
funding to help with bridge repairs,
• Barre Street, from Charles Street
too, he said. The Bailey Street bridge
to Pioneer Street bridge.
will be patched as soon as possible, but
a new deck membrane and wearing • Clarendon Avenue (to include
surface replacement will probably not water, sewer and utility work and
happen until the next time Route 2 to also include some paving on
is paved by the state, in two to three nearby Dewey, Jordan, Redstone,
years, McArdle said. In addition, and Dwinell streets).
the School Street bridge needs to be • Greenfield Terrace.
painted, he said, and the Granite
• Deerfield Drive.
Street bridge needs a new deck.
• Gallison Hill Road (Rt. 2 to
The city’s own funding for
stream crossing at base of hill).
infrastructure and roads had fallen
behind when the city council decided • Taylor Street (to include storm
some years ago to boost spending drains, sidewalk improvements,
on facilities, equipment, and and lighting).
infrastructure projects (other than
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 5
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Beneficiary Designations
By Claudia I. Pringles
Y
ou are a planner. You’ve met with your
estate planning attorney to make
sure your wishes are documented
and to minimize the headaches associated
with probate for your survivors. You’ve also
met with your financial advisor to make
sure your financial goals are on track.
Everything looks great, but then you get
divorced. As you pick up the pieces and
move forward with your life, you forget all
about those pesky beneficiary designations
you so carefully took care of once before.
Now your life insurance policy still has
your ex-husband’s name as beneficiary.
Should something happen to you before
you get a chance to update that beneficiary
designation, your ex-husband (and his new
wife and her kids) will be most appreciative.
It is of vital importance to any estate plan
to stay up-to-date with your beneficiary
designations and properly name them in the
first place. This can avoid headaches and
hardships for your intended beneficiaries,
reduce costs by avoiding probate, and, most
of all, honor your true wishes.
Montpelier resident Gabriel Lajeunesse, a
financial advisor with Edward Jones, also
described situations where people may have
opened accounts a long time ago and may
not even remember who was designated
as a beneficiary. He advises that, in order
to efficiently and effectively control and
locate your accounts, you may consider
consolidating them into one convenient
place. You should discuss this with your
financial advisor.
Other real-life scenarios where issues with
beneficiary designations can arise:
Deceased Beneficiary: If you named a
beneficiary who is now deceased, be sure
to update that beneficiary designation.
Otherwise, if the person named was the
sole beneficiary listed, the proceeds of that
asset will need to go through probate court
Senior Living
to determine who will receive them.
New Family Members: If your family has
grown since the last time you’ve updated
your beneficiary designations, don’t forget
to take them into consideration.
Minors: A minor who is named as a
beneficiary will have their assets managed
by their guardian until the minor turns
18. The guardian will typically be the
surviving parent, or it may be someone you
named in your will as appointed by a judge.
What if the surviving parent is someone
whom your child hasn’t seen for five years
or someone who is financially reckless? To
have someone besides the guardian manage
the assets, consider creating a trust and
designating the trust as the beneficiary. For Ambiguous Charities: When you selected In summary, by ensuring your beneficiary
example, the trust instructions may include “People’s Front” as a charitable recipient, did designations are in good order, you can
that the trustee can use the funds to provide you mean “The People’s Front of Judea” or avoid potentially complex situations and,
for your child’s maintenance, support, and “The Judean People’s Front”? First, before therefore, truly honor your wishes.
education, then the trustee can distribute naming a charity as a beneficiary, it is Claudia I. Pringles is a lawyer in Montpelier.
the remaining funds when the child is of a important to get information directly from To contact her office call (802) 778-0306
certain age, such as 25 years old. the charity on how the designation should or visit PringlesLaw.com. Claudia is also a
read. (The second thing you should do is board member of the Friends of The Bridge,
Spendthrifts: For adults who can’t manage
watch the film Life of Brian.) which raises money for this newspaper.
their own finances, naming them as a
beneficiary is probably not a good idea, Automated systems: You should avoid Edward Jones is a regular advertiser.
because the funds won’t last or may be do-it-yourself programs where beneficiary
given away to their closest 100 friends. designations are pre-filled out for you
Instead, a trust can be used to manage because it can be easy to forget to check
assets for such a person for a longer time this information yourself.
period or for the rest of his or her life.
Disabled Family Member: A disabled
family member who is a recipient of
Medicaid or SSI (or who may become a
recipient as an adult) can suffer unintended
consequences if they are named as a
beneficiary. This is due to strict limits that
Medicaid and SSI allow an individual to
have in their name and still receive these
key government benefits. To avoid a loss of
benefits, create a special needs trust for the
person’s benefit and have all the beneficiary
designations point to his or her trust, the
assets of which won’t count against the
person as a resource for Medicaid and SSI.
PAGE 6 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
A Message From City Hall
This page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.
What’s Happening at City Hall?
by William Fraser, City Manager
W
ith gray weather and regular snowfall, it sure
hasn’t felt like spring is on the way. Granted
Vermont is not known for its lush, colorful
spring season, but for some reason this winter feels like it
has hung around way too long.
Annual Meeting wrap up:
We congratulate Council members Ashley Hill and Jack
McCullough on re-election to their Council seats. We also
congratulate and welcome new Council member Lauren
Hierl. She brings her new perspectives to city government.
We thank outgoing Council member Rosie Krueger for
her dedicated service to the community. These essentially
volunteer positions can be stressful, controversial, and tiring.
Those who serve deserve credit for their contributions of
time, effort, and ideas.
In addition to Council members, Steve Hingtgen and
Andrew Stein were elected to the new Montpelier-Roxbury
District School Board; Shelby Perry and Kassia Randzio
were elected to the Parks Commission; Kimberly Cheney
was elected to the Central Vermont Regional Public Safety
Authority; Tammy Legacy of Roxbury was elected as
School District Clerk, and Shelley Quinn was elected as
School District Treasurer. Thanks to all of these people for
taking on these roles.
I, again, thank the voters of Montpelier for their strong
support of the City and School budgets. The 82.6 percent
municipal budget approval this year is the fifth straight
year of 80 percent or better approval. Each year the council
and staff struggle with finding the balance between
delivering service and presenting reasonable budgets for
consideration. We are grateful for your support and will
continue to strive to provide the best possible services for
you.
Public support was not limited to city proposals. The
School budget received a 74 percent approval, marking
their fourth year in a row with 70 percent or better
approval.
This chart shows city and school budget vote results since
1985.
Article 14
A proposed charter change authorizing the City Council to
regulate energy efficiency in buildings was hotly debated
and passed by a small 32-vote margin. Many people have
inquired about what happens next.
The first step in a charter change is voter approval, which
just occurred. The legislature must then review and approve
the charter language. The city can’t take any action until it
has passed the legislature and been signed by the governor.
Passage (and that’s not always automatic with charter
changes) could happen either in this current session or not
until the 2020 session.
Once the charter language is final, the City Council
can then consider ordinances concerning the issue. These
would be adopted following the normal public process
(two public hearings) as with all other ordinances.
During the time that the charter change is being considered
at the State House, the City Council is planning to hold
special forums on this topic to hear from interested people
about how best to proceed and what might make sense for
Council action.
March is Women’s History Month
Let’s look at the numbers of women in Montpelier City
Council history. This year marks the fourth consecutive
year, and sixth of the last nine years, that a majority
of Council seats have been held by women. This first
occurred in 2011. In 2017, in fact, five of the seven seats
were held by women. There has been no all-male City
Council since 1990.
The first woman elected to the City Council was Janice
Abair in 1976, quickly followed by Sally Rice that same
year. From 1976 to 2000, six women served as council
members, mayors, or both. From 2001 to this year, 13
women have held seats.
Four women—Sally Rice ’87–’88, Ann Cummings
’91–’96, Mary Hooper ’05–’12, and Anne Watson ’18–
present—have served as mayor. Mayor Hooper is tied with
Mayor Chuck Karparis as the longest-serving mayor in the
city’s history. Both Mayor Cummings and Mayor Hooper
have gone on to serve long tenures in the Legislature,
representing Montpelier and Washington County. Perhaps
the most remarkable thing about the female-majority
council is that no one remarks on it anymore.
Here’s the full list:
Mayors: Sally Rice, Ann Cummings, Mary Hooper,
Anne Watson.
Council Members: Janice Abair, Sally Rice, Harriet
Slaybaugh, Ann Cummings, Marjorie Power, Nicole
Dewing, Nancy Sherman, Cheryl Fischer, Nancy
Wasserman, Sarah Jarvis, Angela Timpone, Anne
Watson, Jessica Edgerly-Walsh, Dona Bate, Jean
Olson, Ashley Hill, Rosie Krueger and, now, Lauren
Hierl.
Goals and Strategic Planning
On April 15 and 16, your City Council will establish
its goals, priorities, and strategic plan for the upcoming
year. This new Council will have the opportunity to
use the strategic planning process to articulate their
collective vision for the city and identify policy goals
and key implementation strategies. This effort will
include a professional municipal strategic planning
consultant, direct interaction with the staff leadership
team, and involvement of key boards, commissions,
and committees.
The 2018 Strategic Plan can be seen at montpelier-vt.
org /DocumentCenter/ View/5378/Cit y- Council-
Goals-2018-2019. People can view our public dashboard,
which regularly updates progress on the strategic plan, at
performance.envisio.com/dashboard/montpelier-vt
Upcoming
Items
Before the new
strategic plan
is adopted, we
are finishing up
items from the 2018 plan. The next few Council agendas
will include the following:
• Adoption of zoning “fixes”
• Overall review and updating of all ordinances
• Audit presentation
• Discussion of scooters
• Tax stabilization policy
• Rental property inspection
• Review of the winter parking ban
• Report on Americans with Disability Act progress
The new Strategic Plan, of course, will set the Council
agenda for the next 12 months.
Information
For those of you who want to stay abreast of information
about city government, there are several ways to do so:
•All meetings of City Boards, Commissions, Committees,
and the like are open to the public.
•This article in The Bridge is written by the mayor or me
and is published monthly.
•The City’s website, montpelier-vt.org includes news,
updates, notices, and information about projects as well
as agendas, minutes, and other meeting documents. All
documents that go to the City Council for meetings are
posted publicly.
•The City Manager and department heads write a
weekly memo to the City Council providing updates and
information about city activity. This memo is posted for
all to see on the City’s website.
•All (or most) Council meetings and meetings of major
boards and committees are broadcast—and often
rebroadcast—on local cable TV.
•All (or most) of the above meetings are both streamed and
archived for viewing on the city’s website.
•The City has a Facebook page “City of Montpelier, VT—
official” that posts updates and also links some updates
from the website.
•The City has a Twitter account “@VTMontpelier” that
also posts updates and links from the website.
•The City regularly posts items of interest, including
council agendas, on Front Porch Forum.
•The Annual Report, distributed in February, provides an
overview of the city government’s year. It is available on
line or in print at City Hall.
•All emergency notifications, including winter parking
ban notices, are issued using VT-Alert. People can receive
phone calls, text messages, e-mail, or all three. Register
for VT-Alert through vtalert.gov or by calling (802) 347-
0488.
Finally, of course, please feel free to contact me or your
elected officials with questions or comments about the city
government. I can be reached at wfraser@montpelier-vt.org
or (802) 223-9502. Other city officials’ email addresses
and phone numbers are available on the web.
Thank you for reading this article and for your interest in
Montpelier city government.
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 7
From Egypt to Vermont
Wanda Johnson’s Transoceanic Love Story
By Tom Brown
Wanda and her not-yet husband Bob
Johnson on the trip from New York
to Alexandria, Egypt, on which they
met. Courtesy of Wanda Johnson.
T
he story of 104-year-old Wanda
Fortunée Meriems Johnson, who
lives in Duxbury, reads like a Hol-
lywood love story—think Titanic without
the iceberg.
It began 80 years ago in Heliopolis, Egypt,
when Wanda decided to join a group of
young people bound for the 1939 New
York World’s Fair. Her parents, Jews whose
family fled persecution in Europe, were
reluctant to let her go, especially with Hit-
ler’s storm clouds closing over Europe. She
convinced them, however, and the fair was
spectacular, including the debut of a new-
fangled device called “television,” which
enthralled the fair’s 44 million visitors. But
it was the return voyage that changed her
life forever and led her to Vermont.
Four days before the ship docked in Alex-
andria, Egypt, Wanda met Robert Lincoln
Johnson, an intellectual New Englander
who was headed to Beirut to teach phi-
losophy, psychology, and sociology in the
American University there. Before they
disembarked Bob proposed to the rather
independent Wanda, her second proposal
of the trip. She turned down both suitors
but agreed to correspond with Bob in the
proper courting style of the day.
“We wrote letters to each other on a daily
basis, long letters telling all these thoughts
and feelings,” she recalled in a firm, ac-
cented voice. “After two years of writing
each other, the Americans were going to
enter the war, and young men were asked
to go back to United States and, of course,
by that time, I believed he was the kind of
person I would want to marry.”
The couple eloped, marrying at the U.S.
Embassy in Cairo, and after returning to
New York, the newlyweds settled on a farm
in southern Vermont.
From Heliopolis to Duxbury
The journey of a Jewish girl from Egypt to
Duxbury, Vermont, serves as a reminder of
the evils of racist pogroms from the 19th
century to Hitler’s rise, and at the same
time, highlights the opportunities and free-
dom represented by migration to America.
Wanda’s parents, an Italian-speaking Aus-
trian mother and Russian-Romanian fa-
ther, left Austria around 1895 when anti-
Jewish sentiment started to rise. They
settled in Russia, but once again hatred
made life untenable. They emigrated to
Turkey before settling in Heliopolis, now a
part of sprawling Cairo.
Wanda was educated in Egypt’s French
schools, where her love affair for that lan-
guage led to an 18-year career teaching
French in Vermont and Massachusetts. But
knowing English was the key to finding
work in 1930s Egypt, so she attended the
American University in Cairo. “I had to
learn English to be a typist,” she said.
“I worked for an English company as a
secretary for a cigarette factory.” She later
worked for Warner Brothers Studios in
Cairo, where her knowledge of French,
English, Italian, Arabic, and Hebrew was
invaluable.
After leaving Egypt in 1941, the couple
owned farms in West Townsend and Graf-
ton before settling on a 550-acre farm in
West Brattleboro, where they raised 10,000
chickens, 350 sheep, and three children:
Colman “Cordy” Johnson, Robert L.
“Bobby” Johnson Jr., and Carol “Curley”
Johnson Collins.
Wanda is quick to admit that farming
was not her thing, and two brain hemor-
rhages suffered by young Cordy kept her
occupied. But as soon as the kids were
old enough, she went back to her love
of French. While teaching in Brattleboro
she earned an undergraduate degree from
Keene State College in New Hampshire
and a master’s from Smith College in Mas-
sachusetts.
Un Amour des Livres
With the children heading off to college,
farming became unsustainable for Bob,
who relied on their labor. He recognized
the rise of industrial chicken farms in the
Midwest, and knew he couldn’t compete.
Seeking to combine their mutual interests
the couple found an ad for a bookstore in
the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and in 1965 Bob launched
The BookCase—a 28-year fixture selling
used books to future lawyers, doctors, and
dreamers, while Wanda taught French in
Boston regional high schools.
In 1993, Harvard University refused to
renew the lease for The BookCase store,
which was already costing $7,000 a month.
Then 80, and having suffered a recent fall,
Bob needed to retire and return to the
rural sanctity of Vermont, where their chil-
Senior Living
dren still lived. Wanda couldn’t completely
divest, however, and kept 3,000 of her
beloved French language books, eventually
donating 1,000 to Keene State.
“I like the French books,” she said with a
twinkle in her eye. “And I like to have a
library of French literature. It was a very
strong part of my life.”
Fortunately for the couple, their son-in-
law, Fred Collins, is a master woodworker
who designed, and with the family, built a
beautiful round house for them across the
road from Fred and Carol’s place in South
Duxbury, where they could enjoy their six
grandchildren and four great-grandchil-
dren. Bob passed away in 1995 at age 82.
At 104, Wanda still lives in the house and is
helped daily by Carol, Fred, Cordy, Carol’s
son Seth, and other caregivers. She is grate-
ful for Meals on Wheels, although the
food doesn’t always suit her, she says. Three
local folks—Pam Perry, Sharon Turner,
and Suzy Markowitt—are a big help to
Carol with her daily care.
Wanda isn’t sure about the secret to her
longevity. She said she used to smoke but
stopped when the dangers became more
well-known, “thanks to my daughter.”
“Maybe this is why I have lived so long,”
she said while holding her mezuzah. “I held
this, every night before I went to sleep, and
I thanked God!” The mezuzah is often
found in the doorways of Jewish homes
and contains bits of parchment with verses
from the Torah.
Whatever the reason, Wanda Fortunée
Meriems Johnson has lived a long and
meaningful love story worthy of Titanic’s
Jack and Rose.
PAGE 8 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
New Spring Classes at MSAC
A
bandon your notions about what “senior center”
means. Spring is on the way, and the Montpelier
Senior Activity Center has prepared over 75
weekly spring class offerings. More than 10 new class
series are being offered that span a variety of topics from
yoga to financial foundations. Many are open to adults
of all ages, and some are even open to youths.
Among the new classes this spring:
Yoga Foundation for a Healthy Back with Bill
Dorigan
A class ideal for both beginner and seasoned yogis. Each
class will provide instruction on proper alignment of
each pose, with a particular focus on the lower back,
a necessity for a healthy foundation of any pose. Slow-
paced and deliberate, this class will help students build
their knowledge of yoga poses. Learn how to strengthen
your lower back and develop an understanding of
proper posture for standing and sitting.
Creative Community Dance with Alana Rancourt
Phinney
No experience required and all are welcome to this
community dance series. Come and become familiar
with your dancing selves as individuals, within a group,
and in a broader context as an art-maker of the world.
Through guided improvisation, our bodies will lead
us on a journey. We’ll become comfortable in our
Photo Courtesy of MSAC.
bodies and create choreography together using music as
inspiration.
Tile Making with Janice Walrafen
Have you ever wanted to make a ceramic tile, or perhaps
you’re just curious about how it is done? Working from a
flat slab of clay, tiles can be carved, sculpted, drawn, and
painted. Create ornate signs for your home welcoming
visitors with your name and address, decorative tile for
the kitchen or bathroom, or simply enjoy working with
clay.
Intuitive Gelli Printing, Adventure and Playful
Collage with Suki Ciappara
This class will be an exploration of gelli printing
techniques where we will learn new ways to print using
Senior Living
the gelli plate (such as image transfers, botanicals and
fabric, and stenciling). The possibilities are almost
endless.
Financial Foundations with Gabe Lajeunesse
Come learn financial foundations with a qualified
financial advisor—this will not be a sales presentation.
Eight class sessions will cover a variety of topics, from
preparation for the unexpected to tax-free investing.
Yoga for Stroke Survivors with Patty Crawford
Discussion is focused on the mind-body disconnect
that often occurs after stroke. We will address how
to improve balance, strength, and range of motion.
Meditation and breathing techniques are practiced to
help overcome the stress and emotional impact of
stroke.
Classes are held at 58 Barre Street, run 10‒12 weeks,
and start the week of April 8, unless otherwise noted.
For a full detailed description of each, as well as
cost, age restrictions, and dates and times, and to
register online, please visit montpelier-vt.org/msac. Any
questions, please call 223-2518.
This text was provided by the Montpelier Senior Activity
Center
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 9
COVE Puts Faces to Elder Issues
C
ommunity of Vermont Elders
(COVE) has launched a new
campaign—grow bOLD—
to encourage civic engagement in
the legislative process in order to
positively change the conversation
on aging in Vermont. grow bOLD
was introduced during the Older
Vermonters Caucus at the State
House on February 7 and will remain
a constant and weekly presence each
week of the session.
“We learned that when someone who
is affected by the issues is present
when legislators talk about those
issues, the conversation changes. The
issues become humanized,” said Ruby
Baker, executive director of COVE.
Volunteers will meet each Thursday
for the Older Vermonters Caucus
at 8 am in Room 10 of the State
House before dispersing to listen in
on various committees and meet with
anyone who is interested in hearing
about grow bOLD or their personal
stories.
COVE staffer Marichel Vaught
said “policy affects each person
differently, and it is important for
our representatives to understand
just how the decisions they make at
the State House affect real people in
very tangible ways. I am following
issues that affect me, but someone
else might have a different bill they
want to pay attention to. It’s about
reminding our legislators in the rush
of the session that we are relying on
them to do everything in their power
to make our lives and our state the
best it can be.”
Volunteers can be easily identified by
bright lime-green T-shirts with the
grow bOLD logo emblazoned on the
front and the sponsoring organizations
on the back. The unified image
and voice supports all sponsoring
organizations and volunteers. Each
volunteer will also wear a button
encouraging representatives to ask
them about their personal story or
struggle as an aging Vermonter.
Current sponsors are AARP of
Vermont, the Vermont Department of
Disabilities, Aging and Independent
Living (DAIL), The Bridge newspaper,
The National MS Society, Support
and Services at Home (SASH), and
Cathedral Square Corp.
“The coalition is always growing, and
that’s the beauty of it. Everyone is
getting older! This affects us all,” says
volunteer Jim Holway.
To volunteer or to become a
sponsor, contact Marichel Vaught at
Marichel@vermontelders.org.
Senior Living
Hope Lindsey Grows Bold
Hope Lindsay, an older Vermonter from food, health care, and housing.
South Burlington, shares her perspective On quality of life (access to cultural
on aging in the state. activities and jobs, volunteer activities,
On basic services (food, shelter and and meeting others with similar
health care, including dental and interests.)
vision)
This is the area that most affects my
I think Vermont does a good job—better outlook and sense of identity. There are
than most—but food costs have increased limits to wheelchair accessibility and
beyond Social Security cost-of-living people to meet. I was a volunteer for
increases, and there is a growing need for Vermont Respite House for five years.
affordable housing for seniors. I am an When it moved to Colchester, wheelchair
advocate for “Medicare for all,” including transportation was no longer available.
dental and vision. Similarly, I could no longer go to services
at Vermont Zen Center in Shelburne,
On financial security (especially Social
Security) nor to Essex Junction for a workshop for
children’s book writers. All three are my
Financial security is, well, insecure. I don’t most important activities. Without them
know if you are aware of this, but our I feel stalemated and sometimes, hopeless.
two so-called cost-of-living increases in (Despite my name!)
the past half-dozen years were channeled
directly to increases in premiums for As my retirement income gets gobbled
up, and I rely on aid, I thought to look
Medicare. In other words, we didn’t see
a cent of increase. I don’t begrudge the for employment. I have been honest in my
letters of application; that I am a retiree,
funding for Medicare, but in truth, Social
Security recipients have not had a true use SSTA for transportation, and use a
increase in years, although there was once wheelchair almost always. Of the four
a stipulation that increases could not be jobs I applied for this year, not one called
channeled elsewhere. Regardless, the cost for an interview, and only one responded
of living continues to climb. One reason that I would be contacted if there was an
is attaching cost of living to gasoline and interest.
heating oil prices when a much more This text was provided by the Community of
sensible measurement would be cost of Vermont Elders
PAGE 10 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
PoemCity Celebrates 10 Years of Verse
By Michelle A.L. Singer
Y
ou could reasonably argue that as a Photo by Kerrin McCadden.
skill, poetry isn’t as useful as CPR.
In other words, poetry doesn’t
save lives. And yet, consider Tom Martin
from Franklin, Vermont, who comes to
Montpelier every April to experience
PoemCity, Kellog-Hubbard Library’s
celebration of National Poetry Month.
In 2006, Martin was in two serious car
accidents. Medical care restored his body,
but it was poetry that saved his soul.
In his poem, “Dear Rachel,” which will be
displayed in the window of Kinney Drugs
on Main Street this year, he describes his
body as limbs & head/Velcro fixed. He
goes on to write: Lastly came a rope, its/
fibers held lost poems/wrote on pulp. It’s
dedicated to Rachel Senechal, Program
and Development Coordinator at
Kellogg-Hubbard Library, who launched
PoetryALIVE, the precursor to PoemCity,
10 years ago. The last lines of Martin’s
poem give thanks to Senechal and her
team: For it has truly helped/to heal me.
At the heart of Senechal’s vision for
PoemCity is that everyone can be a poet.
“People have told me that PoemCity
inspired them to write poetry for the first
time,” she says, “and that includes me.” At
first intimidated about sharing her poems,
she grew in confidence over the years to
begin using her own name. Nor is she
alone. “Last year,” says Senechal, “We
had 66 poets who were new to PoemCity.”
What began with 70 poems 10 years
ago has blossomed into 500, representing
poets from 88 Vermont cities and towns,
and over 50 programs, including poetry
readings, workshops, and exhibits. “This
is a major undertaking for the library,”
says George Longenecker, president of the
Poetry Society of Vermont, “and Rachel
works tirelessly on PoemCity...It is one
of the most extensive National Poetry
Month events in the nation, all the more
amazing coming from a small city and a
library with a staff of 15.”
“This vital literary program is like no
other I have experienced or witnessed as
a poet or reader and teacher of poetry
in my career,” says Poet Laureate of
Vermont Chard deNiord. “The broadsides
that hang in business windows serve as
windows on windows into the memorable
news of townspeople’s lives, memorable
local experiences, and creative expressions
that cross over from the citizen-poets to
strangers and friends alike.”
PoemCity relies on community
collaboration, something Senechal
Book Spine Poem.
understood from the beginning. She
reached out that first year to Montpelier
Alive to make the important connections
to downtown businesses and worked
closely with Phayvanh Luekhamhan, a
poet with connections to local poetry
networks. Luekhamhan was instrumental
in designing the inner workings of the
program, such as having poets submit
poems through the online portal
Submittable. Poems are reviewed,
accepted, and made into broadside
posters that are delivered to businesses by
volunteers.
PoemCity’s poems become a walkable
anthology, hanging in the windows of 100
Montpelier businesses such as AroMed
on State Street, which will also host
a workshop on poetry and scent, and
Bear Pond Books, a longtime partner of
PoemCity. “PoemCity provides a great
opportunity to showcase a wide range of
poets at our independent bookstore,” says
Samantha Kolber, Bear Pond’s marketing
and event coordinator. “We really beef up
our poetry programming, and we stock
up on books of many of the presenters
because we know the added visibility from
PoemCity will bring more poetry readers
to the store.”
PoemCity 2019 will kick off on April 1
with a new collaboration of poetry and
dance, hosted by Lost Nation Theater.
Former three-term governor of Vermont,
Madeleine Kunin, will read poems from
her memoir Coming of Age: My Journey to
the Eighties as well as new poems slated
for publication next year. Kunin says her
Arts
poetry comes from a place she didn’t know
existed when she was in politics. She will
be joined by Alana Rancourt Phinney, a
local dance artist, who is working closely
with Kunin to design a performance
that responds to and accents her poetry.
PoemCity will wrap up on April 30 with
a 10th anniversary celebration at Down
Home Kitchen.
In between the kick off and cake,
PoemCity will feature LGBTQ poets;
a Native Abenaki musician and a poet;
poets reading in benefit of migrant justice,
in memory of Cora Brooks and Mary
Oliver; and one reading that will take
on the entirety of Whitman’s “Song of
Myself.” Workshops will be offered on
form, point of view, how to write a slam
poem, and how to mix origami with
haiku. There will be readings about sexual
assault, kindness, connection, racial
injustice, inspiration, nature, saving the
world, and politics.
Group readings will include the Vermont
Studio Center, the Community College of
Vermont, the Montpelier Senior Activity
Center and Westview Meadows, Beth
Jacob Synagogue, Washington County
Mental Health, and the Vermont College
of Fine Arts. They join featured poets on
the calendar such as Kerrin McCadden,
Major Jackson, and Elizabeth Powell.
Rick Agran, who will record poets during
PoemCity for his radio show, Bot Mot, on
Goddard’s WGDR says, “Nowhere else in
Vermont can you read your way, literally
and literarily, from place to place.”
Looking ahead, Senechal is already excited
about next year’s PoemCity programming.
She plans to bring in poets from widely
diverse backgrounds and places. “It’s
not about outdoing ourselves,” she says.
“Artists create, and that’s what we do,
create new experiences.”
For more information about PoemCity go
to kellogghubbard.org/poemcity or stop
by the Kellogg-Hubbard Library to pick
up a PoemCity program with a full listing
of events and poems.
Michelle A.L. Singer is a journalist and
poet who lives in East Montpelier. She is
the Program Assistant for PoemCity. She
has been working with Rachel Senechal for
five years.
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 11
New Novel Features Girl King Arthur
By Sarah Davin
T
he new novel, Once & Future,
by Montpelier-based authors
Amy Rose Capetta and
Cori McCarthy, takes the legend of
King Arthur and launches it into
an adventure that embraces science
fiction. This crossover novel, meant for
both a teen and adult audience, centers
on the character of Ari Helix, an illegal
immigrant from an Arab planet who
finds the sword, Excalibur, and begins
her destiny to become the next King
Arthur.
One aspect of this book that
distinguishes it is its multiple authors.
In addition to both being graduates of
Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA),
McCarthy and Capetta are partners
in life and in writing. McCarthy has
written four young adult novels and
teaches classes at VCFA in writing for
children and young adults. Capetta has
also written four young adult novels.
Together, they co-founded the Rainbow
Writers Workshop and Rainbow Boxes,
a charitable initiative that has sent
LGBTQ+ fiction to libraries across the
country.
The initial concept for the book came
from McCarthy, who dreamed of
reading a version of the legend with
a girl lead. “I can’t remember a time
before I wanted to read about a girl
King Arthur. I kind of always thought
it would just happen and waited for
someone to write it. Maybe there are
some out there, but I’ve never heard of
them,” they continued. “Amy Rose was
always telling me, ‘You should write it,’
and eventually I said ‘I will if you will
write it with me.’” Capetta added, “I
always say that I was a fan of this book
before I got to be involved in writing it.
That was really fun because I wanted
Cori to turn this project into a reality.”
Initially, the writing centered on the
two main characters of Ari and Merlin,
with McCarthy focusing on the point
of view of Ari and Capetta focusing
on Merlin for the first draft. As the
writing process progressed, those lines
blurred with McCarthy and Capetta
trusting each other with changes and
edits. McCarthy explained, “After the
first draft, it becomes less clear cut. We
Amy Rose Capetta (left) and Cori McCarthy
Photo by Nicholas Bromm.
actually do whole rounds of revision
where one of us is reading the whole
thing. We have a very strict policy
of not using ‘Track Changes.’ So, we
change each other’s work. We add
things. We cut things out. There’s a
lot of trust.”
Science fiction and superhero movies
are having their time in the spotlight—a
trend that has not escaped the notice
of the two self-proclaimed nerds.
While some writers would choose to
avoid the high levels of action, magic,
and explosions, Once & Future is
overflowing with spaceships and sword
fights.
“I’m really proud of this book,” said
McCarthy. “We set out to write what
we were calling a blockbuster. We set
out to write something commercial
on purpose. That’s not what a lot of
authors want to say. We set out to
write something big and shiny and ‘J. J.
Abrams’ for our teenage readers to get
excited about.”
Within the structure of an action
and adventure story, McCarthy and
Capetta introduce their readers to
characters with identities not frequently
represented in mainstream fiction.
A few examples include Ari and her
adoptive brother Kay’s two space
captain moms; Lamarack, a black,
gender-fluid character; and Guinevere,
Ari’s love interest. McCarthy remarked,
“On a personal note, this was the
Arts
book out there or if there is something
a little bit like your book out there. We
need so many more stories about queer
people of all kinds, of all stripes of the
rainbow.” Capetta also stressed that it’s
important for writers who don’t identify
as LGBTQ+ to consider including
LGBTQ+ characters, suggesting that
they may not be the main characters,
but it’s great to have queer characters
exist in your world.
While Once & Future may be a light-
hearted fantasy story, it also reflects
real LGBTQ+ experiences that the
mainstream book market has largely
overlooked. “I think a lot of people will
say there are so many queer characters
[in the novel]. We’re just writing our
everyday. Our lives are built around
first non-binary trans character I
really awesome queer people, so it
got to write, and I am a non-binary
doesn’t feel like a stretch at all to write
transperson, so it was really exciting.
that into a book,” Capetta expressed.
We were putting our toes in the water
The authors mentioned that some of the
with using a character who uses they/
characters in the book are influenced
them pronouns and seeing what the
by real friends and LGBTQ+ people
reactions would be to that. So far,
in their lives. Most importantly, their
they’ve been overwhelmingly positive.”
book is meant for readers of all stripes.
Capetta and McCarthy support future
Capetta affirmed, “Queer books are
authors who want to include LGBTQ+
for everyone. A book with a straight or
characters and offered some advice
cis character is for everyone. It should
to fellow LGBTQ+ writers. Capetta
be the same. An adventure story is an
encouraged, “If you’re a queer writer,
adventure story.”
hoping to write queer characters, I say
just go for it. Don’t hold yourself back.
Don’t be afraid about the market. Don’t
be afraid that there’s nothing like your
PAGE 12 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
Craftsbury Filmmakers Produce a Gem
Farmer of the Year Sets Stage for Future Projects
By Irene Racz
Kathy Swanson and Vince O’Connell. Photo courtesy of John Lazenby.
T
he late writer and director Nora
Ephron famously said that
“everything is copy.” Kathy
Swanson, a Craftsbury resident who
hails from Minnesota, appears to have
come by that notion intuitively. For
as long as she can remember, she has
written down anything that tickled her
fancy, including many of her father’s
priceless expressions and one-liners.
That inclination came in handy when
Swanson and her husband, Vince
O’Connell, decided to produce and
direct a feature film called Farmer of
the Year. Swanson drew on her treasure
trove of observational material to write a
touching and very witty screenplay that,
though fictional, relies heavily on her
dad’s life as a small-town farmer. The
film was shot in her hometown of Tyler,
Minnesota, with some scenes filmed
on the family farm and in her retired
father’s house.
The story follows a widowed farmer
named Hap (Barry Corbin of Northern
Exposure fame) as he is about to retire
and turn his spread over to his son and
daughter-in-law. At a loss for what to
do with himself, Hap initially tries to
corral his brother Virgil (Terry Kiser
of the Weekend at Bernie’s films) into
taking a road trip west with him.
When that doesn’t work out, Hap’s
granddaughter Ashley (Mackinlee
Waddell of ABC’s Good Christian Belles)
steps in. Adrift after returning from
college and having trouble finding a
job, and in perpetual conflict with her
parents as they take over the farm,
Ashley sets off with Hap in a Winnebago
that looks like it could disintegrate at
any minute.
As they head west, Hap and Ashley
encounter a variety of recognizably
absurd and comic situations involving
satellite navigation, online dating,
currency (remember traveler’s checks?),
and people who aren’t what they seem.
Despite their generational differences,
Hap and Ashley come to understand
and assist each other as only two people
on parallel tracks can. One of the film’s
taglines, “Life Is One Long Growing
Season,” says it all.
The film played in January at
Montpelier’s Capitol Showplace, where
it beat several Hollywood movies as
the second-highest-grossing film of the
week. It has also been screened at a
number of film festivals throughout
the country, racking up nominations
for best feature film, best actor, and
best supporting actress, and winning
in the audience choice, best actor, and
emerging director categories.
Swanson and O’Connell took an
unlikely and long route to filmmaking,
and are gratified by how it’s worked
out. After childhoods that couldn’t
have been more different (Swanson
was a cheerleader, a dairy princess,
and a college wrestling statistician in
Minnesota, while O’Connell was born
in Brazil and lived all over the world
with his peripatetic parents), the two
met in the early 1980s while working
for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
Given the seasonal nature of the work,
Swanson also worked for the U.S.
Forest Service in Washington state.
Meanwhile, O’Connell, a cyclist and
Nordic ski enthusiast, founded the
endurance sports apparel company
VOmax in western Massachusetts.
After selling the highly successful
business in 2005, the pair spent time
in Washington, where they enrolled in
a one-year film production program at
Selkirk College, across the border in
Nelson, British Columbia. O’Connell
notes with amusement that they were
the oldest students in the program “by
35 years.”
Film
By this time, they were already
establishing permanent roots in
Craftsbury, having bought a ramshackle
farmhouse in sight of the ski trails
where they had met. They spent years
renovating the house that also serves
as headquarters for their production
company, YellowHouse Films.
Swanson already had degrees from the
Minnesota State University at Mankato
and Syracuse University. O’Connell,
who had attended the University of
Massachusetts without graduating,
finished his degree at Johnson State
College in 2011. Armed with those
credentials and their Selkirk experience,
they enrolled in the film school at Ohio
University in Athens, Ohio. With a
number of short films under their belts,
they spent four years bringing Farmer of
the Year to fruition.
During their film’s run at the Capitol,
Swanson and O’Connell were on hand
two nights for an audience Q&A. As
the pair exited the theater the final
night, manager Teddy Cheney said to
be sure to let him know when their
next film is ready, because he’d like to
feature their work again.
They are, indeed, thinking ahead to
two projects. O’Connell is working on a
“gritty, dystopian sci-fi” story that would
be manageable to produce. Swanson has
an idea that would be more complicated
to produce, but which they believe has a
lot of promise. It’s based on a true story
involving a small-town sports team and
school consolidation—issues that are
near and dear to Vermonters’ hearts,
especially these days.
For more information, go to
farmeroftheyearmovie.com.
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 13
Town Meeting Day Roundup
Energy Efficiency Charter Change Narrowly Passes
By Tom Brown
M
ayor Anne Watson said voters
got their message across with
the narrow victory on Town
Meeting Day of a city charter change
proposal.
Residents were almost equally divided on
granting the City Council the authority
to set and enforce energy efficiency
standards in homes and businesses,
approving the charter change proposal
by a margin of 32 votes, 928-896. No
recount has been requested, according
to Sheila Healy, assistant city clerk.
Watson told city councilors at their
first session after the vote that residents
made it clear that they had many
questions about the plan, and she
pledged to have “lots of discussion”
before any ordinance is crafted. That
discussion will commence even before
the charter change is considered by the
state legislature. Approval of the charter
change will likely have to wait until the
second half of the current biennium,
which begins next January.
“We are looking to have some public
forums dedicated to just that issue,”
Watson said. “We have a goal of
both energy efficiency and keeping
Montpelier affordable, and we need to
address both of those things.”
The council wanted the charter change
to begin a discussion on ways to
Politics
increase energy efficiency in Montpelier
buildings and help the city achieve
its net-zero energy goals. In part,
the aim was to provide incentive for
some landlords to increase the energy
efficiency of rental units and make
them more affordable to tenants who
pay their own heating bills.
However, chatter on public forums,
such as Front Porch Forum, indicated
that some tenants were concerned that
such a mandate would cause landlords
to simply increase rents to compensate
for their investment in efficiency.
“It was a tighter margin than I would
have hoped,” Watson said right after the
vote. “But I think that this gives us a
pretty clear message to be cautious and New City Council member Lauren Hierl (right) is sworn in after winning a seat in
that is, I think, entirely appropriate. I District 1 on Town Meeting Day. Also returning to the council were Ashley Hill
welcome that message that we should (left) and Jack McCullough. Photo by Tom Brown.
go slowly here and be very careful and
have a lot of public dialogue, and I new face on the City Council as she School Board and Andrew Stein won
am really excited to have that public won the District 1 seat vacated by Rosie after being appointed to replace Peter
dialogue.” Krueger. Ashley Hill was re-elected in Sterling. Tammy Legacy was elected
District 3, and Jack McCullough won in School Clerk, and Shelley Quinn was
The charter change, which was Article
District 2 after having been appointed elected as treasurer. Kim Cheney was
14 on the ballot, was the only close
to replace Mayor Anne Watson a year elected to the Central Vermont Public
decision. All of the city and school
ago. Kassia Randzio won a five-year Service Authority board.
spending measures were strongly
seat on the Parks commission, and The absence of contested races perhaps
approved, as was a $350,471 item to
Shelby Perry won a two-year seat on led to the low voter turnout, which
support the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
that board. City Clerk John Odum put at about 24
There were no contested races for any
On the school side, Steve Hingtgen was percent.
elected office. Lauren Hierl will be the
reelected to the Montpelier-Roxbury
PAGE 14 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
Fresh Greens Grow in Barre Warehouse
By Carl Etnier
A
t a time when most Vermont
gardeners are perusing catalogs,
or maybe planting some
starts, Jake Isham and Greg Kelly are
harvesting and selling basil, romaine
lettuce, and a salad mix. And they’ve
been doing it all winter, inside a former
granite shed in Barre.
The goal for their company, Ceres
Greens, is to grow and market greens
year-round in Vermont, using renewable
electricity for the LED lights that
substitute for the sun. After using the
better part of the year to experiment with
different arrangements, the company is
working to fill its 10,000-square-foot
facility to the rafters (20 feet above the
floor) with shelves of greens.
For now, local foodies can find the
greens in menu items at the Morse
Block Deli or Maria’s Bagels in Barre,
both less than a 10th of a mile from
the warehouse. Three Brothers in
Colchester also uses Ceres Greens’
products, according to Isham. He says
they have 27 companies in line to
buy their greens, as local production
expands.
Isham and Kelly started growing under
lights for different reasons. Isham’s were
more ideological. A Norwich University
graduate who left the military after
an accident in Army Ranger school,
Isham said that he looked at the “big
issues for the world over the next 50 to
100 years...Take overpopulation, take
rapid urbanization and reduction in
agricultural capacity—we have some
potentially seriously issues. So using
innovation and technology to increase
our food production is something that
is really important to me.”
Lettuce growing under white LEDs.
Photo by Carl Etnier.
Isham said they can afford to use
small-town warehouse space for food
production because, most of the year,
their main competition is trucked in
from across the country. Yes, the rent
on a warehouse is more than it would
be on an equivalent-sized plot of land
in the country, but Isham claims they
can produce 180 times more per square
foot than in a local field growing three
crops of greens a year. “It’s all about
space-use efficiency... By going indoors,
you also control the environment a lot
more, and by using hydroponics, you’re
directly giving nutrients to the plants...
Indoors we’re able to get between 14
and 26 (annual harvests), depending on
the crop.”
The Barre location was chosen partly
because of Isham’s connection to
Central Vermont through his college
years in Northfield. It was also an
economic calculus. “We wanted to be
centrally located in the state, close to
the highway, and also have affordability
on the real estate,” Isham said. He also
pointed to Barre’s cultural potential,
which he likened to his hometown,
Winooski. “It was an old mill town...
but it’s really seen a renaissance, and
Barre is in a similar position right now.”
Ceres Greens moved into the location
in early 2018. The two partners
needed to learn how to grow greens
indoors commercially, so they set
about experimenting. On a visit to the
warehouse last August, plants were
growing sideways out from troughs
Farming
hung vertically from near the ceiling.
They thought the vertical arrangement
would give the most efficient use of
space. However, “as we looked at what
it would look like in the complete build-
out of the space, it wasn’t going to be
productive and profitable for us. We
tested it against a couple other models
of growing, and we decided that the
current system [with flat trays of plants]
is going to be the most productive and
efficient on the labor side as well as the
consistency of the crop.”
Isham said they didn’t want to fill the
warehouse with production until they
had done enough work to be sure they’d
developed a system that they were “100
percent sure that was...going to be the
one we move forward.”
Isham says they now plant a new crop
on Mondays and Thursdays. With full
production, he expects to plant every
day—and to harvest greens every day.
With the expansion comes a need for
more hands and more expertise. Ceres
expects in the next several months
to hire someone with agronomic or
horticultural training. The local greens
industry has non-food competition for
that type of worker, however. Isham
said, “The cannabis space has been
taking up a lot of people with experience
in hydroponics.”
While the cannabis industry is the
hot topic of agriculture today, indoor
farming operations like Isham’s keep
under the radar. “Vertical farming in
general is pretty quiet right now. There’s
a lot of companies out there that are
doing this, but nobody’s really talking
to each other.” While Isham said he
hopes this changes, he’s keeping quiet
on some of the results of his in-house
research for now.
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 15
Smart Plastic Strategies in Farming
By Patrick Sullivan
P
lastic use on most farms and gardens
across Vermont is ubiquitous.
Because caring for the environment
is one of our core principles at Ananda
Gardens in Montpelier, it is a complex
and contradictory issue. We have been
exploring caring for the environment
since we started growing food more than
a decade ago, particularly regarding the
use of plastics.
From our small home gardens to
apartments overflowing with plants,
plastics have followed us and filled critical
roles. Our philosophy is not to use plastic
when possible, use it minimally, or reuse it
at least three times. This generally means
using more expensive plastics, whether it
is a garden hose, seedling tray, or plastic
tote. Cheap plastic breaks down many
times faster, and you end up spending
more and using more plastic as a result.
Plastics are very widespread in
greenhouses. Starting the season early is
crucial for a farm’s profitability in our
semi-arctic spring, and greenhouses help
us accomplish this. In our home gardens,
we made “mini-greenhouses” using
windows and storm doors. We would
build a simple wooden frame and place
the repurposed glass on top to create a
warmer microclimate inside. Commonly
these are called cold frames, and they are
a great way to start plants in the spring in
your gardens without using plastics.
It would be prohibitively expensive to
cover our large commercial greenhouses
with glass, so we have moved to plastic.
However, this is not a roll of plastic you
get from the hardware store. It has been
treated so it will not shatter into tiny
pieces, as would happen with a tarp left
outside under the sun for too long. When
it is no longer useful as a greenhouse
cover, we plan to reuse this plastic to cover
our soil. Although windows and doors are
a great choice for cold frames, if you do
use clear plastic for your next homemade
greenhouse, make sure you get plastic
specifically made for greenhouses.
Another area of farming in which there
is a tremendous amount of plastic use
is packaging. We are attempting to
eliminate altogether single-use plastics on
the farm. To do this, we only package
what we absolutely have to. Carrots in
plastic, not a chance! But greens without
plastic wilt within hours. We view
“bioplastics” as part of the solution to
the problem, but you must look closely:
Many “biodegradable” plastics are plastics
that have been treated with a chemical
so they will break into tiny fragments
very quickly, like mini sun-battered tarps.
These “biodegradable” plastics may make
consumers feel good, but they are no
improvement for our environment.
We found BioBags—a corn-based
produce bag [featured in the Feb. 6 issue
of The Bridge]—two years ago. We tried
them enthusiastically, and you may have
even gotten some salad from us in the
unmistakable green bags. Although we
were optimistic, our trials ended early
both seasons. BioBags breathe too much,
letting air escape from the climate inside
the bag. Our greens lasted only a few
days, while in other bags they can last up
to ten days.
We returned to our trusted half-gallon
zipper lock bags as the best alternative.
While much more expensive than the
polypropylene bags greens are generally
sold in, they can be reused, and this was
key for our philosophy. In our house, we
may wash, dry, and reuse a zipper lock
bag many times before it goes to the
waste basket.
This year we are excited to try a
NatureFlex cellophane bag made from
wood pulp. It doesn’t breathe as much
as the green BioBag, you can see what is
inside, and it breaks down in any home
compost.
Last, on our farm we use silage tarps
to cover part of the garden each year.
This allows us to protect an area that
will be planted later in the season, or
Farming
to incorporate crop residues without
disturbing the soil. Keeping the bare earth
covered as much as possible is critical to
farming. Greenhouse gas emissions from
modern farming have been devastating
to our climate. Roughly two-thirds of
soil carbon has already been lost from
our planet’s cultivated soils, according to
Dr. Rattan Lal, professor of soil science
at the Ohio State University. As the soil
is excessively tilled, carbon is released.
On the other hand, soil covered by living
plants, a silage tarp, or a thick layer of
mulch locks in greenhouse gases.
This is called climate-friendly farming,
and as a bonus produces healthier crops
and more drought-resistant soils. Like
greenhouse plastics, these tarps are heavy
duty and can be reused for many years.
If you want to take part in the no-till
gardening revolution this summer, on a
small scale we recommend straw, leaf,
and compost mulch, but whatever you
do, don’t leave a regular tarp out all
summer to shatter into tiny pieces. Put
the Rototiller away and cover your soil.
Patrick Sullivan is the owner of Ananda
Gardens.
PAGE 16 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 17
U-32 Claims Two State Crowns
Boys and Girls Nordic Teams Dominate
By J. Gregory Gerdel
W
hen Dan Voisin volunteered to step
in as a one-season coach for the
U-32 Raiders’ Nordic ski team, he
was aware of the team’s talent and appreciative
of the coaches who have nurtured that talent
through several years and multiple sports at
the school. That development was realized this
year when both the boys and girls teams won
Division II state championships.
Voisin is quick to give credit to Mark Chaplin,
the head coach, and Andrew Tripp, who is in
Greece with his family for the first half of 2019
working with refugee children from the Middle
East.
“The boys team has one of the strongest work
ethics of any team that I have been involved
with—college or high school,” Voisin said.
“This is the result of the culture that has been
developed by Andrew Tripp and Mark Chaplin
over the past several years. The boys work hard,
support each other, and have a lot of fun. They
train together through cross-country running,
nordic skiing, and track, and with clubs (Onion
River Nordic or Craftsbury Nordic) during the
summer; it’s a year-round sport. The U-32 boys
team, especially at the U16 level, may be the
strongest public school team in the Northeast.”
Sports
Jed Kurtz, a sophomore, won the freestyle
Photo by Tim Flynn.
event overall, with a time that beat all
of the Division I skiers, but the team’s
strength is in consistency: in boys Division
II, the Raiders placed seven of the first nine
finishers. In the classical event, they won
seven of the first 12 places, edging out a
very competitive team from Middlebury.
Likewise, the girls team has dominated
Division II skiing and competed strongly
with the top Division I teams, Champlain
Valley Union and Mount Mansfield. “With
the return of May Lamb (who spent the first
semester in Wyoming while her mom was
on a sabbatical from Norwich University),
the lady Raiders gained additional depth
and a strong, out-front skier,” he said.
The consistency principle also worked
for the girls, who won both the freestyle
and classical relays, finishing more than
a minute ahead of Middlebury in both
events.
Next year, the Raiders will return seven out
of eight state meet starters for both boys (All left to right) Front Row: Mia Smith, Trevor Patterson, Ginger Knight, Jesse
and girls. Colnes, Shams Ferver, Charlotte Harris, Lucy Wood, Claudia Salat Serrabasa;
Back Row: Esther Macke, Ayla Bodach-Turner, Tzevi Schwartz, Greyson Davis,
Lucy Krokenberger, May Lamb, Anna Knauss;
Far Back: Waylon Kurts, Sam Clark, Cameron Thompson, Hans Krokenberger.
PAGE 18 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
The Golden or Gilded Years
By Larry Floersch
W
hen my mother in law retired
in her mid 60s, she sent my
wife a letter (yes, she was that
old-fashioned) in which she proclaimed
it was the best time of her life. About 10
years later she sent my wife another letter
that began, “Remember when I sent you
that letter about the retirement years
being a golden time? Well, let me revise
that statement.”
Now that I, too, am retired, I feel it is
my duty as a journalist to back up my
mother-in-law’s observations and warn
you about some myths surrounding
retirement. Now, I know what you’re
thinking: “But Lare, retirement sounds
so attractive. Endless hours to do what
I want to do: fishing, boating, travel,
cruises, books, parties, naps! Right?”
First, your time is not your own. If
you have a significant other and that
significant other is still employed,
after you sleep in that first day of your
retirement, you will awaken to find
conveniently stapled to your chest, so
you will not lose it, what is called a
“honey do” list. This list will “suggest”
tasks around the house that urgently
need to be accomplished now that you
are no longer employed. These tasks will
be more involved than just, “Take out the
garbage,” which will not be on the list,
but you had better do it anyway if you
know what’s good for you. In my own
experience, I was actually expected to
complete projects I had successfully put
off since the Eisenhower administration.
Next you will learn that technology is
not your friend. Television, for example,
is not a solace in retirement. Watching
TV for any length of time will convince
you that you have symptoms of psoriasis,
shingles, atrial fibrillation, hepatitis
B, acid reflux disease, constipation,
overactive bladder, clinical depression,
Type II diabetes, low back pain, bipolar
disorder, erectile dysfunction, and…
that other thing, …what is it? Uhh …oh
yeah, Oldtimer’s Disease or something
like that.
And you will have to sit through 287
commercials per day of the “My Pillow
Guy” talking to a sleepless couple through
a medicine cabinet. Two hundred of
those “My Pillow Guy” commercials will
air during the local evening news hour.
And in the middle of the night you will
awaken, regardless of what pillow you
use, and wonder why it doesn’t seem
to bother the sleepless couple that their
medicine cabinet has no back.
If you were computer literate while you
were still employed, changes in software
and technology will begin to accelerate
the day you walk away from your job,
and within a few weeks you will be
completely at a loss to understand what
is going on. Even the most simple of
websites will confound you. You will
have difficulty locating “OK,” “Next,”
and “Log Off” buttons. You will forget
passwords. A subscription to WIRED
magazine will only compound the
Senior Living
situation by making you feel really
ignorant.
You will discover that people younger
than you, such as your children and
grandchildren, use text messages instead
of email or actually talking into a phone
(which apparently is considered too 20th
century). You will try to compensate for
this by getting a smart phone so you
can keep in touch, but you will discover
your thumbs are too large, and you will
not be able to operate the keypad. This
will unleash the “autocomplete” feature
on your smartphone, which will be a
source of mirth for those with whom
you communicate. I once texted some
friends, “Stopping at Walmart to pick up
a couple of things.” I did not notice my
phone replaced the “i” in “things” with
an “o” before I hit the “send” button.
And if all this evidence isn’t enough,
consider this chilling government
statistic. Of all the people who retire
between the ages of 62 and 70, very
few live more than 30 years after their
retirement date.
Why risk it? Keep working.
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 19

Calendar of Events
Community Performing
resilience in the face of adversity and multiple
setbacks. A nearly debilitating stroke forced THEATER, DANCE,
STORYTELLING, COMEDY
Arts
Brown to teach himself to paint left-handed.

Events Discussion to follow with artist Ray Brown

and Filmmaker Nat Winthrop. 7 pm. T.W.
Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. $10
suggested donation. twwoodgallery.org
Events happening Yestermorrow’s Spring Speaker Series: Art
March 20–April 2 of Stone with Thea Alvin. Explore the art
of assembling the chaos of individual stones
into sculptures, uniting their unique voices
March 21: Jessica Care Moore. A spoken
word performance by poet, performance artist,
and producer. 7 pm. Stearns Student Center
Performance Space at Northern Vermont
University-Johnson. Free. jessicacaremoore.com
March 22–23: TRIP Dance Troupe. Annual fundraiser for the competitive group of 35 young
dancers associated with the Stowe Dance Academy. March 22 at 7 pm; March 23 at 3 pm. Spruce
Peak Performing Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
The Christ Church Community Lunch.
11 am–12:30 pm. 64 Main St., Montpelier.
Salvation Army Community Lunch.
Noon–1 pm. 25 Keith Ave., Barre.
Refugee Resettlement: Globally and
Locally. Refugee Counselor Anna Wageling
will talk about how the VT Committee for
Refugees and Immigrants has served over
8,000 refugees and those granted asylum
who have established new homes in VT since
1980. An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
program. 1:30 pm. Montpelier Senior Activity
Senior Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free
for OLLI members; $5 suggested donation for
others.
Pizza and Party for Purim! Pizza,
hamantaschen to bake and to eat, mask
and grogger making and games followed
by the reading of the megillah. Costumes
encouraged, great for all ages! 5:30–7:30 pm.
Beth Jacob Synagogue, 10 Harrison Ave.,
Montpelier.
Mid-Week Movie: At Eternity’s Gate.
6–8 pm. Highland Center for the Arts, 2875
Hardwick St., Greensboro. $5 suggested
donation. highlandartsvt.org
Full Moon Snowshoe Hikes (for families).
Under a full moon and surrounded by
sparkling snow, let’s snowshoe by lunar light!
Programs led by NBNC’s teacher/naturalist
staff. Snowshoes and hot chocolate provided.
7–8:30 pm. North Branch Nature Center,
713 Elm St., Montpelier. RSVP required.
northbranchnaturecenter.org
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
Older Vermonters Caucus. Hear about the
legislative issues affecting older Vermonters.
Topic: Nursing Homes. 8–9 am. Vermont
State House, Room 11, Montpelier.
Trinity United Methodist Church
Community Lunch. 11:30 am–1 pm.
137 Main St., Montpelier.
4th Annual Spring Indoor Egg Hunt.
Lost Nation Theater’s Lobby is specially
decorated for a great Egg Hunt! Kids, age 11
& under (accompanied by adult) scavenge
for eggs full of chocolate, and maybe find
the golden eggs stuffed with special prizes.
5:30 pm. Montpelier City Hall, 39 Main St.,
Montpelier. Free; donations accepted. Space
is limited— first-come, first served, up to 40
participants. lostnationtheater.org
The Providers, Film & Discussion. Set
against the backdrop of the physician shortage
and opioid epidemic in rural America, The
Providers follows three healthcare providers in
northern New Mexico. With intimate access,
the documentary shows the transformative
power of providers’ relationships with
marginalized patients. 6:30 pm. Kellogg-
Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier.
223-3338.
Premiere Film showing: Ray Brown:
Portrait of an Artist. Documentary film by
Nat Winthrop chronicling artist Ray Brown’s
into an integrated conversation. Experience March 22: Laugh Local VT Open Mic Comedy Night. See aspiring local comics or try it out
stone arches, walls, labyrinths, gateways, and yourself. Signups at 7 pm; show starts 7:30 pm. 7 pm. The Dog River Brewery, 1400 Rt. 302, Berlin.
circles through images and stories. 7 pm. Free/donations welcome. 793-3884. May contain some adult themed material and is recommended
Yestermorrow Design/Build School, 7865 for mature audiences.
Main St., Waitsfield. Free. yestermorrow.org March 22: Kathleen Kanz Comedy Hour. A wide range of talented standup comics from here and
away working longer sets. 8:30 pm. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. Free/by donation.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 479-0896. espressobueno.com.
March 28: Spoken-Word Performance. I.N.K, made up of Jonathan “Courageous” Clark and Lane
Naturalist Journeys Presentation Series:
Shuler, performs a fast-paced mix of poetry, comedy, and hip-hop on themes that include diversity,
The Flipside of Falconry. Falconer acceptance, social justice, body image, depression, and suicide prevention. 8 pm. Alexander Twilight
Cynthia Shelton harnesses the predator-prey Theatre at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon. Free. Erin.Rossetti@NorthernVermont.edu
relationship between raptors and “pest”
birds such as seagulls, pigeons, and starlings. April 4: Extempo. Locals tell short-format, first-person, true stories live on stage without any notes or
reading. 8–10 pm. Bridgeside Books, 29 Stowe St., Waterbury. $5. extempovt.com.
7–8:30 pm. North Branch Nature Center,
713 Elm St., Montpelier. April 5–6: Mary Poppins Jr. See Rumney Memorial School theatre’s performance filled with
beloved, familiar songs and dance, and lively youth performers. April 5 at 7 pm. April 6 at 2 pm and
Celebrating Victor Jara Film. The 7 pm. Rumney School, 433 Shady Rill Rd., Middlesex.
Resurrection of Victor Jara producer Q&A
session; live music by Los Pimiento. 7 pm.
Old Labor Hall, 46 Granite St., Barre. $15;
$12 seniors/students/members.
oldlaborhall.org
SATURDAY, MARCH 23
Hike Mt. Elmore with Green Mountain
Club. Moderate. 5 miles. Hike or snowshoe
up Mt. Elmore, ascending by the most direct
route and descending via Balanced Rock.
Contact Steve or Heather Bailey, 622-4516 or
stevecbailey@gmail.com for meeting time and
place.
Barre Congregational Church Community
Meal. 7:30–9 am. 35 Church St., Barre.
Sing Into Spring Open House. Join Miss
Andrea of Musical Munchkins for songs,
puppets, instruments, and musical activities
revolving around spring, the farm, the park,
the zoo, and the ocean. 9:30 am:
1–2 year olds; 10:30 am 2–4year olds;
11:30 am: 4–5 year olds; 12:30 pm: babies
and early 1’s. Green Mountain Performing
Arts, 37 Commercial Dr., Waterbury.
musicalmunchkins.net
Lenten Seminar at St. Jacob Eastern
Orthodox Church. “How should we deal
with our shortcomings in a healthy way?”
A discussion with Dr Peter Bouteneff of St.
Vladimir’s Seminary, NY. 11 am–4:30 pm
Optional vesper service at 5 pm. 376 Rt. 12
North, Northfield Falls. Lunch will be served.
673-4042
SUNDAY, MARCH 24
Silent Film Series: Harold Lloyd in Safety
Last. Featuring live accompaniment with
maestro Bob Merrill. 2–3 pm. Highland
Center for the Arts, 2875 Hardwick St.,
Greensboro. $10; students/seniors $8.
highlandartsvt.org
Yiddish Learning Class Begins. Six-week
course. Learn Yiddish with teacher Randi
Hacker. All levels welcome but we will
be starting with the basics and each class
will build upon the one before it. 3–4 pm.
Beth Jacob Synagogue, 10 Harrison Ave.,
Montpelier. Sliding scale donation.
Tiny Twilight Café. Every fourth Sunday of
the month, families gather at Downstreet’s
community space for a light supper and a
chance to connect with other parents.
PAGE 20 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
Visual Arts
EXHIBITS
Through March 27: 9th annual Mt Abraham
Emerging Artists Show. Mt Abraham High
School students in grades 9–12 were invited to
submit their work on the basis of their artistic
talent and dedication to creating art as well as
their potential as future artists. The mediums
represented will include painting, photography,
jewelry, ceramics, and others. Art on Main,
25 Main St., Bristol.
Through March 28: Axel Stohlberg and
Frankie Gardiner, On Paper. City Center,
89 Main Street, Montpelier.
Through March 28: Ryan Geary, Ascent
(Part One: Eulogy). A collection of 2D and 3D
collages. River Arts Center, Copley Common
Room, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. riverartsvt.org.
Through March 29: Close to the Cloth.
Textile exhibit featuring the work of Barbara
Bendix, Karen Henderson, Stephanie Krauss,
Skye Livingston, Kate Ruddle, and Neysa
Russo. Demo Day: March 23, 1–3 pm. The
T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier.
twwoodgallery.org.
Through March 31: Coastal Paintings by
Mary and Alden Bryan. A 35th Anniversary
Exhibition. Paintings by Bryan Memorial
Gallery founder and spouse. 180 Main St.,
Jeffersonville. bryangallery.org
Through April 5: Notweed. A multimedia
exhibit featuring 500 hanging stalks of Japanese
4:30–6:30 pm. 22 Keith Ave., Barre. Free
for parents and caregivers with children
3 and under. Older siblings welcome.
RSVP encouraged: facebook.com/
events/271509383716396/
MONDAY, MARCH 25
Community Lunch at Unitarian Church
Montpelier. 11 am–12:30 pm. 130 Main St.,
Montpelier.
Salvation Army Community Lunch.
Noon–1 pm. 25 Keith Ave., Barre.
Author Reading: Ring of Fire by Yenna Yi.
A story of time and places, war and poverty,
and sailing the big waters of the globe on a
home-built catamaran. Books will be available
for sale and signing. 6:30 pm. Kellogg-
Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier.
223-3338.
Monthly Book Group for Adults. New
members are always welcome. March’s book
is Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday. 7 pm. Jaquith
Public Library, School St., Marshfield
Calendar of Events
knotweed, soundscapes, and interactive
contemporary dance by NVU-Johnson
associate professor of digital art Sean Clute.
Dance performance by Pauline Jennings:
March 28, 7 pm. Julian Scott Memorial
Gallery at Northern Vermont University-
Johnson. NorthernVermont.edu
Through April 7: Precarious Magic: The
Paintings of Kate Emlen. Painted scenes of the surroundings such as landscape or architecture
fields and forests of Vermont and the coast of to create inner meaning. The T. W. Wood
Maine. Highland Center for the Arts,
2875 Hardwick St., Greensboro.
highlandartsvt.org
Through April 9: A People’s History. A
solo collage exhibition by Vanessa Compton
featuring 23 collages on the birth, development,
and destiny of our nation. Barre Opera House,
6 N. Main St., Barre. barreoperahouse.org
Through April 19: Thom Egan, On Making
Pictures. Wood block prints, lithographs,
and colored low reliefs. River Arts Center,
74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. riverartsvt.org.
March 27–April 24: Linda Bryan, Deeper
than Blue: Cyanotypes and Printmaking.
Opening reception: March 26, 6 pm.
Quimby Gallery in Harvey Academic Center at
Northern Vermont University-Lyndon.
Through April 26: Susan Bull Riley,
Illuminating Wonder. Bull Riley challenged
herself to push past the watercolor’s traditional
boundaries of pure transparency, and her
background in botanical watercolors, to create
large landscapes with heightened surface
complexity more typical of oil painting. The
TUESDAY, MARCH 26
Barre Congregational Church Community
Meal. 7:30–9 am. 35 Church St., Barre.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27
The Christ Church Community Lunch.
11 am–12:30 pm. 64 Main St., Montpelier.
Salvation Army Community Lunch.
Noon–1 pm. 25 Keith Ave., Barre.
The Estey Organ Company: An
Ethnomusicologist’s View. Dennis Waring,
an ethnomusicologist, instrument maker,
music educator, performer, six-time author,
and two-time Connecticut Troubadour, will
present a historical examination of the reed
organ that reveals fascinating information
about the beginnings of American popular
culture, Victorianism, and the Industrial
Revolution. Noon. Norwich University
Sullivan Museum, Northfield. norwich.edu.
The History of Spices. Spice expert Hank
Kaestner will discuss the search for spices
Gallery at Central Vermont Medical Center,
130 Fisher Rd., Berlin. susanbullriley.com
Through April 26: Ray Brown and Toby
Bartles, Steps on a Journey—An Exhibit
of Two Vermont Painters. Both artists share
much in common with the second generation
abstract expressionists, as they both draw
influence for painterly choices from immediate
Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. 262-6035.
twwoodgallery.org
Through April 26: Central/Northeast
Kingdom Vermont Watercolor Society.
Works by works of Janice Avery, Lisa Beach,
Joann DiNicola, Gary Eckhart, Terry
Hodgdon, Susan Bull Riley, Michael Ridge,
and more. Opening reception: April 4,
5–7 pm. The T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St.,
Montpelier. vermontwatercolorsociety.com
Through April 26: Looking North—
Catamount Artists Connect. Nineteen visual
artists from Catamount Arts in the Northeast
Kingdom show their work in the Spotlight
Gallery’s latest exhibition at the Vermont Arts
Council. Vermont Arts Council, 136 State St.,
Montpelier. vermontartscouncil.org
Through April 27: Mad River Rug Hookers.
Considered both a craft and an art form, rug
hooking with its variety of colors and textures
appeals to both young and old alike. Numerous
styles and techniques will be on display at this
exhibition by the Mad River Hookers. Demos
on Saturdays through April 27, 1 –4 pm.
5031 Main Street, Waitsfield. valleyartsvt.com
and how it has been a motivator for world
exploration and commerce. An Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute program.1:30 pm.
Montpelier Senior Activity Senior Center,
58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free for OLLI
members; $5 suggested donation for others.
Mid-Week Movie: The Hate U Give.
6–8 pm. Highland Center for the Arts, 2875
Hardwick St., Greensboro. $5 suggested
donation. highlandartsvt.org
Showing Up For Racial Justice: Living
Room Conversations About Racism. Topic:
Free Speech in the Time of Charlottesville.
Offering information, reflection, and
conversation as we learn together how we can
all show up for racial justice. 6:30–8:30 pm.
Jaquith Public Library, School St., Marshfield
LUNAFEST. A traveling film festival of
award-winning short films by, for and about
women. 7–9 pm. Savoy Theater, Main St.,
Montpelier. $20; $25 at door/students $15.
Proceeds will benefit Vermont Works for
Women. sevendaystickets.com
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Film &
Discussion. Film takes an intimate look at
America’s favorite neighbor: Fred Rogers. The
documentary tells the story of a soft-spoken
minister, puppeteer, writer, and producer
whose show was beamed daily into homes
across America for more than 30 years.
7 pm. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main
St., Montpelier. 223-3338.
Rescue Training. Join NBNC biologists for
an evening program featuring local amphibian
ecology. Then learn how you, your family,
or your students can participate in our
Amphibian Road Crossing citizen science
project this spring. 7–8:30 pm. North Branch
Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier.
229-6206
THURSDAY, MARCH 28
Older Vermonters Caucus. Hear about the
Through April 28: The Front presents
SHOW 31. Recent works by the membership of
Montpelier’s sole collective art gallery. 6 Barre St.,
Montpelier. thefrontvt.com
Through April 30: Out, Around, and Back
Again. Paintings from Sally Giddings Smith
since leaving Vermont 30 years ago. The
Old Meeting House, 1620 Center Rd., East
Montpelier. oldmeetinghouse.org
Through April 30: Promises of Spring.
Watercolors by Marcia Hammond of
Brookfield. Chelsea Public Library, 296 Rt. 110,
Chelsea. 685-2188.
Through May 2: Ruth Pope. Landscape
paintings. Jaquith Public Library, Old
Schoolhouse Common, 122 School St.,
Marshfield. 426-3581
Through June 1: Thomas Waterman Wood:
The Master Copies. A selection of Wood’s
master copies from the T.W. Wood Art Gallery
collection. While Wood was in Europe he fell
in love with the paintings of the European
Masters, including Rembrandt and Turner.
Following current fashion, Wood copied
paintings to learn techniques from the masters.
T.W. Wood Gallery, Montpelier. 262-6035.
twwoodgallery.org
Through Dec. 21: 200 Years—200 Objects.
An exhibition celebrating Norwich University’s
bicentennial. Curated to include objects from the
museum collection, as well as documents and
images from Archives and Special Collections,
that reflect and retell the university’s 200-year
history. Norwich University Sullivan Museum
and History Center, Northfield. norwich.edu
legislative issues affecting older Vermonters.
Topic: Home Delivered Meals/Congregate
Meals/Nutrition. 8–9 am. Vermont State
House, Room 10, Montpelier.
Trinity United Methodist Church
Community Lunch. 11:30 am–1 pm.
137 Main St., Montpelier.
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
Barre Congregational Church Community
Meal. 7:30–9 am. 35 Church St., Barre.
Caring for Your Woods Pancake
Breakfast. Free breakfast followed by
hands on workshops for woodland owners.
9 am–1 pm. Twinfield Union School,
Marshfield. centralvtplanning.org
Paint and Nosh! Join artist/instructor
Joyce Kahn and make your own painting
masterpiece to bring home! Enjoy a dessert bar
and non-alcoholic sparkling beverages while
you paint. 6:30 pm. Beth Jacob Synagogue,
10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. $20. Pre-
register: bethjacobvt.org
Contra Dance with Maivish. Music by
Maivish and Dave Eisenstadter calling. No
experience and no partner needed. All dances
are taught plus an introductory session at
7:45 pm. 8–11 pm. Capital City Grange Hall,
6612 Rt. 12, Berlin. Adults $10; kids $5;
dance supporters $15. Please bring clean, soft-
soled shoes. 225-8921.
MONDAY, APRIL 1
Community Lunch at Unitarian Church
Montpelier. 11 am–12:30 pm. 130 Main St.,
Montpelier.
Salvation Army Community Lunch.
Noon–1 pm. 25 Keith Ave., Barre.
PoemCity Kick-Off with Poetry & Dance
featuring Madeleine Kunin & Alana
Rancourt Phinney. Kunin will read poems
from her memoir as well as new work slated
for publication next year. Rancourt Phinney,
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 21
Live Music
VENUES
Bagitos. 28 Main St., Montpelier. 229-9212.
Bagitos.com
March 21: Italian Session, 6 pm
March 22: Yuriy Kolosovskiu, 11:30 am
March 23: Irish Session, 2 pm; Barry Bender,
6 pm
March 24: Southern Old Time Music Jam,
10 am
March 28: Italian Session, 6 pm
March 29: Latin Dance Party, 7 pm
March 30: Irish Session, 2 pm; Small Axe
Benefit for Migrant Justice, 6 pm
April 4: Colin McCaffrey and Friends, 6 pm
Charlie O’s World Famous. 70 Main St.
Montpelier. Free. 223-6820.
Every Tues.: Karaoke, 7:30 pm
Espresso Bueno. 248 N. Main St., Barre. 479-
0896. espressobueno.com.
March 22: Thomas Gunn, 7:30 pm
Gusto’s. 28 Prospect St., Barre.
gustosbarvt.com that weaves traditional and modern influences
March 21: Cooie DeFrancesco, 5 pm; DJ Bay
6, 8 pm, 21+
March 22: Chris Powers, 5 pm; Exit 23, 9
pm, 21+, $5 for the Arts, 2975 Hardwick St., Greensboro.
March 23: DJ LaFountaine, 9:30 pm, 21+
March 28: Jason Baker, 5 pm; DJ Bay 6, 8 pm, 21+ 20% discount for seniors. highlandartsvt.org
a local dance artist will accent the evening
with movement. Together they will present a
unique duet of poetry and dance. 7 pm. Lost
Nation Theater, 39 Main St., Montpelier
TUESDAY, APRIL 2
Barre Congregational Church Community
Meal. 7:30–9 am. 35 Church St., Barre.
Bike Washington with Green Mountain
Club. Easy, about 20 miles. Washington
Heights to Chelsea. Meet at the pull off on
the left just below Washington Heights on
Rt. 110 at 11 am. Bike to Chelsea or maybe a
little further. Bring lunch or there is a Quick
Stop in Chelsea to buy food. George Plumb:
883-2313 or plumb.george@gmail.com.
Speechcraft Workshop: ER...AH...UM...
YOU KNOW... Prepare and present short
talks and practice impromptu speaking
in a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere.
These workshops will help you be able to
communicate with confidence and poise at
work and at home. 6–7:30 pm. Capstone, 20
Gable Pl., Barre. Free. RSVP: 477-5214 or
mferguson@capstonevt.org
PoemCity: Love Poems for Married People.
New Yorker contributor John Kenney reads
from “Love Poems for Married People,” which
NPR called “a hilarious collection of love
poems for, well, married people.” 7 pm. Bear
Pond Books, 77 Main St., Montpelier
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
Orchard Valley Walk-Through Wednesday.
Join us for this monthly open house event
during the school day, and observe main lesson
in grades 1-8. Campus tour and Q&A time,
too. 8:30–9:30 am. Grace Farm Campus,
2290 Rt. 14 N., East Montpelier. Pre-
registration required: 456-7400. ovws.org
The Christ Church Community Lunch.
11 am–12:30 pm. 64 Main St., Montpelier.
Salvation Army Community Lunch.
Noon–1 pm. 25 Keith Ave., Barre.
Mid-Week Movie: If Beale Street Could
Talk. 6–8 pm. Highland Center for the
Calendar of Events
March 29: Eric Lindberg, 5 pm; Imagine
That! 9 pm, 21+, $5. Southern gospel, bluegrass, barbershop, and
March 30: DJ KAOS, 9:30 pm, 21+ swing influences. 7:30 pm. Barre Opera
Whammy Bar. 31 W. County Rd., Calais.
whammybar1.com
Every Thurs.: Open Mic, 7 pm
March 22: Kelly Ravin and Halle Jade, 7:30 pm
March 23: Flamboyant Flannel and The
Grackles, 7:30 pm
SPECIAL EVENTS
March 21: The Toasters. 6–8 pm. Live at
the Café at Highland Center for the Arts,
2975 Hardwick St., Greensboro. No cover.
highlandartsvt.org
March 23: New Music at the Movies.
Montpelier Chamber Orchestra premieres
new live music with film projections. Program
includes Erik Nielsen, Music-COMP students
and Copland. 7–9 pm. Chapel at Vermont
College of Fine Arts, College St., Montpelier.
Adults $15; ages 12 and under free.
March 23: The Black Feathers. Experience
the magic between Ray Hughes and Sian
Chandler through their unique musical style
so thoroughly. Americana, folk, and acoustic
indie rock sensibilities coexist comfortably in
their musical world. 7 pm. Highland Center
Tickets start at $20 for adults, $10 for students,
Arts, 2875 Hardwick St., Greensboro.
$5 suggested donation. highlandartsvt.org
PoemCity: Emily Dickinson: Poet of New
England. One of the greatest American poets,
and probably the most important woman poet
of all time. UVM professor emeritus Huck
Gutman explores what Dickinson can teach
us. 7 pm. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main
St., Montpelier
Who’s Your Person? What’s Your Plan?
Advance Care Planning Presentation. Join
us for a short TedMed video and discussion
followed by an overview of advance care
planning (ACP). ACP is a process to help a
person in advance of injury, serious illness, or
catastrophic event to think about and plan for
future medical decisions should they become
unable to speak for themselves. 7–8:30 pm.
Jaquith Public Library, School St., Marshfield.
jaquithpubliclibrary
THURSDAY, APRIL 4
Older Vermonters Caucus. Hear about the
legislative issues affecting older Vermonters.
Topic: Tax issues and Social Security
expedition. 8–9 am. Vermont State House,
Room 10, Montpelier.
Trinity United Methodist Church
Community Lunch. 11:30 am–1 pm. 137
Main St., Montpelier.
Trinity Community Thrift Store Spring
Sale. April 4–6. 10 am–4 pm. 137 Main St.,
Montpelier. 229-9155.
VCFA MFA in Writing & Publishing
Community Classes: Wild Minds: Read
Like a Writer Book Group. Dig deeply
into texts and find the craft tools writers use
to construct their stories. We’ll focus on a
different novel or memoir each month, with
discussion questions designed to help you
identify craft techniques that will strengthen
your own writing while developing the
skills to “read like a writer” on your own.
6:30–8 pm. Vermont College of Fine Arts,
Noble Annex 1 and Conference Room,
College St., Montpelier. vcfa.edu
March 23: The Secret Sisters. Nominees
for the Best Folk Grammy in 2018. Blending
House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. $22–29.50.
barreoperahouse.org
March 26: Mal Maiz. Latin dance band based
in Burlington influenced by modern jazz, funk
and Afro-Caribbean music. 7 pm. Stearns
Performance Space at Northern Vermont
University-Johnson. Free. 635-1408
March 29: RUNA – Celtic Roots Music.
RUNA pushes the boundaries of Irish folk
music, interweaving the melodies and tunes of
Ireland and Scotland with the harmonies and
rhythms of jazz, bluegrass, flamenco, and blues.
7 pm. Highland Center for the Arts, 2975
Hardwick St., Greensboro. Tickets start at $15
for adults, $10 for students, 20% discount for
seniors. highlandartsvt.org
March 29: Chamber Music Soirées.
Featuring local and international musicians
and established ensembles by composers
spanning several different genres. 7 pm.
Monteverdi Music School, Room 200, Barre
St., Montpelier. Name your own ticket price.
March 30: Studio C JAZZ. Allison Mann on
vocals, Colin McCaffrey on guitar and vocals,
John LaRouche on chromatic harmonica, and
George Voland on valve trombone. 7–8:30 pm.
18 Langdon St., 2nd fl, Montpelier. $15.
PoemCity: CCV Poetry Reading. Faculty,
staff and students of CCV read their original
poetry. Featured poets include Carol
Henrikson, Peter Money, Nicola Morris, Carol
Potter, and Monica Stillman. 6:30–8 pm.
Community College of Vermont, 660 Elm St.,
Montpelier
Yestermorrow Speaker Series: Talking with
Trees. Learn about cultivating a respectful
approach to forests from logger, miller, and
teacher Nick Zandstra. 7 pm. 7865 Main
St., Waitsfield. Donations accepted. info@
yestermorrow.org
FRIDAY, APRIL 5
VCFA Friday Night Reading Series. With
Bianca Stone and Xu Xi. Café Anna in
College Hall, Vermont College of Fine Arts,
Montpelier. vcfa.edu
PoemCity: Hearing through the Heart:
An Evening of Poetry & Dance. Through
Reservations recommended. allisonjoymann@
comcast.net
March 31: Fatoumata Diawara. Multi-
talented Malian singer. A self-taught guitarist
and performer, Diawara has performed with
legendary musicians. 3 pm. Highland Center
for the Arts, 2975 Hardwick St., Greensboro.
$23–38. highlandartsvt.org
March 31: Musique de Paris. Scrag Mountain
Music co-directors Mary Bonhag and Evan
Premo will join forces with Annemieke Poelstra
McLane and Jeremiah McLane to present an
eclectic concert of music inspired by Parisian
salons and cafés. With music by music by
Fauré, Debussy, Couperin, Balch, Proto, and
others. 4 pm. Plainfield Opera House, Rt.
2, Plainfield. $15; seniors $10; students $5.
CatamounTix.com
April 4: Christ Church Concerts at
Noon. Pastime with Good Company: Early
Music with the Champlain Consort. Part
of the spring series of lunchtime concerts.
Noon–12:45 pm. Christ Church sanctuary,
64 State St., Montpelier. Bring a bag lunch.
April 4: House Concert. With Greg Rekus
(punkoustic), Chainsaw Bitch Acoustic
(punkoustic), Magic User (synth), and Putsch
(jazz noise). 7 pm. 1248 Rt. 2 East, Montpelier
(driveway on the right, just before Vermont
Country Campers if headed out of Montpelier
toward Plainfield.) https://bit.ly/2VNHxb9
narratives of racial injustice, social inequality
and equity, poets Rosa Castellano and George
Longenecker and dancers Mireya Guerra
and Alana Rancourt Phinney hope that the
heart-opening nature of poetry and dance
will provide a bridge to compassion so that we
can glimpse ourselves in the stories of others.
7 pm. T. W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St.,
Montpelier.
To see a listing
of Weekly Events
and more detailed
event listings, visit
montpelierbridge.com
Design & Build
Custom Energy-Efficient Homes
Additions • Timber Frames
Weatherization • Remodeling
Kitchens • Bathrooms • Flooring
Tiling • Cabinetry • Fine Woodwork
PAGE 2 2 • M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 T HE BRID GE
T HE BRID GE M A RCH 20 —A PRIL 2, 2019 • PAGE 23

To the Editor,
As a girl in the ’80s and ’90s, I grew up with a strong
sense that my body was my own and that I could make
decisions and choices about when and how my life as a
mother would begin. This right to freedom and control
over my body and life have been an essential part of
my identity and pride in being American, but now
those rights are at risk. The Supreme Court could soon
overturn Roe v. Wade, which would block millions of
people from the health care they need.
Elected officials in Vermont have the opportunity to
send a clear message that they stand for the protection
and preservation of reproductive rights by supporting
the constitutional rights amendment and the abortion
rights bill. The decision about if and when to become
a parent should be up to a woman and her doctor—not
Letters
politicians. I want that sense of corporal freedom for my
own daughter, her peers, and all of us. If abortion goes
underground again, women and girls would still have
“choice,” but it would be an unsafe and criminal one on
top of being emotionally fraught.
The Trump Administration has taken direct aim at birth
control access and abortion rights. The constitutional
amendment and H.57 ensure that every woman can
make their own medical decisions with their health
care providers, without politicians interfering. This
amendment upholds the right of all people to health,
dignity, independence and freedom to determine their
own life’s course.
As a professional doula, it strikes me how little support
the majority of American women have around them
during their most vulnerable life passage, becoming
a mother. One in five of us suffer from mental illness
and many go undiagnosed and untreated, suffering in
silence. It’s my opinion that many suffer because of a lack
of support at home and in their communities. At a time
when our society ought to be wrapping more support
and resources around women of reproductive age, our
federal government, and many state governments are
waging war on our reproductive rights. It’s critical that
the Vermont state legislature protect the rights of our
present and future female population by passing the
constitutional amendment and the abortion rights bill,
H.57 now.
Lauriana Capone, Middlesex

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