Author Archive for Ruthie Douglas
Ruthie Douglas is originally from Springfield but has called Chester her home for 58 years, and has been writing the Chester Chatter column for more than 40 of those years. Ruthie is also a longtime volunteer throughout the community.
Chester Chatter: Happy Valentine’s Day to all
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Love is in the air. Can’t you hear it? Can’t you feel it? It’s time to let those we love really know it. Right now is the perfect time to make some memories since the Covid-19 pandemic rules say that we should be staying at home. Gather up […]
Chester Chatter: Navigating life in a wheelchair
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC I now know what handicapped really means. For instance, many stores have doors that are too cumbersome to open if you are in a wheelchair. Walking paths are often too narrow for wheelchairs. Tables at restaurants are many times too high for comfortable dining for those who must […]
Chester Chatter: A town I never want to leave
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC In 1957, when I came to live in Chester, I knew that I would never want to leave. It seemed that everyone knew everyone else. Folks liked each other here. As a farmer’s wife, I was eased into that role slowly. I came to know the hardware store […]
Chester Chatter: Long winters spent indoors
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Because the house I grew up in in Springfield was so small — four rooms for a family of five — we had to share our space. Come a cold winter day when my sister Marie and I could not play outside, so winter meant a lot of […]
Chester Chatter: A winter to remember other winters
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Like so many others, I am experiencing a winter that is so different than previous ones. I have plenty of time to sit around, read,watch TV and recall times that were special to me. One such memory is back in my childhood. I was a tomboy of sorts, […]
Chester Chatter: December birthday wishes
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC It was Dec. 31, 1940 at 11 minutes to midnight, when I arrived. Daddy asked, “Another girl, huh?” I was the fifth daughter in our family. All was well at Springfield Hospital. And with kisses goodbye to my mother, Dad returned to his party with his co-workers, poker […]
Chester Chatter: A quiet, thoughtful Christmas
CARD SHOWER FOR RUTHIE: Ruthie turns 80 on Dec. 31. She would love to hear from you. Just send your notes to Ruthie Douglas, 15 Breezy Lane, Chester, VT 05143. Thank you! By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC My merry little Christmas has come to an end. Since Dec. 1, I have received a […]
Chester Chatter: Back in touch with nature
SHHHH! CARD SHOWER FOR RUTHIE: Ruthie turns 80 on Dec. 31. She would love to hear from you. Just send your notes to Ruthie Douglas, 15 Breezy Lane, Chester, VT 05143. Thank you! By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As we near the end of the year 2020, we have to agree the year […]
Chester Chatter: Card shower to wish Ruthie
a happy 80th birthday!
SHHHH! CARD SHOWER FOR RUTHIE: Ruthie turns 80 on Dec. 31. She would love to hear from you. Just send your notes to Ruthie Douglas, 15 Breezy Lane, Chester, VT 05143. Thank you! By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Wow. The Christmas lights on our Village Green and side streets are wonderful. Chester is […]
Chester Chatter: Little gifts can mean a lot
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC I don’t know when it began, but it has brought me much happiness over the years. Beginning on Dec. 1 of each year, my daughter Jeanie gives me a small gift. Each morning now, with my cup of coffee, I open a gift of surprise and love. Socks […]
Chester Chatter: Sandbox memories
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The old barn was torn down and along with it the chicken house and the milk house. We had built the new barn between the two houses, one owned by Don and I and the other by his brother. But left behind was that milk house foundation. So […]
Chester Chatter: My 1st farmhouse Thanksgiving
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Time has gone by but today I am reminiscing of a long ago Thanksgiving. The farmhouse kitchen was the nucleus of the whole house. It was there that we gathered often. About this time of year, delicious smells filled the home. My mother-in-law was getting ready for the […]
Chester Chatter: Did you thank a veteran?
By Ruthie Douglas © 2020 Telegraph Publishing Growing up in the 1940s, the great news was when World War II ended, and our boys were coming home. Headed off to war were farm boys who had never left their Vermont homes. But they left knowing they were loved. Many had signed up in groups of […]
Chester Chatter: Memory stones in the garden
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC After doing some landscaping work around our back door at the farmhouse, somehow we ended up with a batch of dirt at the side of the door. From then on, whenever we went on a trip, I’d collect a stone from the trip and toss it on the […]
Chester Chatter: Don’t take voting for granted
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing The year was 1957, and I was new bride of 16. One summer day came a knock at the farmhouse door from three gentlemen. “Hello Mrs. Douglas,” they said. “We’re selectmen from the town of Chester and we are here to sign you up to vote.” “Of course,” they […]
Chester Chatter: When the norm was repair, recycle and re-use
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC I my family home growing up, we were not very quick to throw away anything. Instead, we recycled or repaired. Downtown, there was a repair shop and that gentleman stayed very busy. My mother would send me there when she had a problem with any small appliance. The […]
Chester Chatter: A slower pace, a time for visiting
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A walk around the village streets of Chester in the 1950s looks different than today. Starting low on Route 103 was Putnam’s Diner, where the yard was nearly always filled with tractor trailer trucks. It was open nearly 24 hours a day. Moving up the road was the […]
Chester Chatter: Autumn leaves a child’s delight
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Autumn leaves of red and gold come down in my neighborhood, creating a carpet that has covered the dried up grass of the summer past. As kids, we did not waste time to play and jump in the leaves. Later on our fathers would rake the leaves to […]
Chester Chatter: Vacationing in the car with kids
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC When planning our two-week summer vacation, we would do so around some historic place. Don liked big cars, such as a Chrysler New Yorker. It took us — me and the two girls — a couple of days to pack and get ready to go. The back seat […]
Chester Chatter: Perfect fall day for a flea market
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Saturday was a near-perfect fall day to spread your wings and breathe in some fresh air. The American Legion Post 67 utilized for the first time its new property across from their home in Chester. It became a flea market and craft fair. You should have seen it. […]
