All Entries in the "Community and Arts Life" Category
Left in Andover: Found in translation
By Susan Leader ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Growing up, I never suspected my extended family of any deep secrets. Boy was I mistaken. Now I yearn to recreate the kitchen and Popplewood porch gatherings of my childhood, to sift for evidence. At that age, I was focused on my aunts’ cooking rather than on their […]
Chester Chatter: After WWI, Johnnie Walker finds home in Vermont
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Johnnie Walker fished the Williams River in front of my farmhouse and many times would seek a ride back up to town. That gave me a chance to really get to know Johnnie. At one point, my editor — I believe it was at the Black River Tribune […]
Henry Homeyer: Grand dreams of tomorrow’s trees
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC I was recently thumbing through my first book, Notes from the Garden, looking for an inspiration for yet another winter article. In it I read that I had planted my ‘Merrill’ magnolia in 2001. I had forgotten that I planted it just 20 years ago this spring – […]
Springfield Rotary aiding vaccine clinics, masking efforts
The Springfield Rotary Club continues to provide assistance to regional efforts related to the Covid-19 pandemic, including providing masks as well as volunteer participation with the operation of vaccine clinics in the community. Rotarians are serving as parking staff and greeters for the vaccine clinic operated by Springfield Hospital at the Adult Day facility on […]
Young artist brings the inside out while challenging norms
By Jasmin Gomez 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC When Chester resident John Garoutte isn’t snowboarding or skateboarding, you will most likely find him creating art. And the 24-year-old artist’s work, which can be found on shirts, snowboards and skateboard decks, sets him apart from what you may think a typical Vermont artist would create. It continuously […]
Left in Andover: Wrestling with electrical power
By Susan Leader ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Project Independence, President Richard Nixon’s response to the energy crisis created by OPEC’s 1973 oil embargo, called for blanketing America with 1,000 nuclear power plants by the end of the 20th century. Although the theoretical advantages of nuclear power were great, NIMBY-style resistance proved even greater. Communities across […]
Chester Chatter: Kindness abounds in our community
by Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Here I go again. Do you realize how lucky we are to be living here? I am now very familiar with the emergency room, hospital and rehab facilities nearby. Working in these facilities are the staffs. Those folks are some sweet people. The kindness they show their patients […]
Henry Homeyer: Building your garden library
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC I know that many people, especially gardeners under the age of 40, use the internet to find the answers to their questions. That is fine, but the internet is full of “fake news” and spurious assertions. I do use the web, but if I want to learn about […]
Weston’s free ‘Pop-Up University’ restarts; Free screening of ‘Coded Bias’ on facial recognition
Pop-Up University restarts for classes in March The Weston Pop-Up University is returning in March with four weeks of classes, events and workshops led by local residents, all held virtually because of Covid-19 pandemic rules. This year’s Pop-Up schedule includes nine on-line classes and workshops offering a wide variety of topics from Italian cooking lessons […]
Left in Andover: Home Dem meetings were
a lifeline for rural women in the 1950s
By Susan Leader ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC When I was a child, my mother looked forward to Andover “Home Dem,”or Friendly Club meetings. Open to all, they were held at a different member’s home each month. Each meeting included a practical educational topic of discussion as well as time to socialize. The Home Demonstration movement […]
Chester Chatter: Rewarding friendship spans age
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC A house in our neighborhood in Springfield stood vacant for some time. Then one summer day, a moving truck backed up. We kids crept near behind some bushes to see: Would there be any kids to play with? No, it turns out. Just two old people, Henry and […]
Henry Homeyer: mid-winter care for your houseplants
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Are you suffering from the mid-winter blahs? More importantly, are your houseplants? We can’t be in our gardens outside now – except for a few stalwarts who are pruning, I suppose – but we can take good care of our houseplants. Although I have not the passion for […]
Chester parish sells ‘Bernie Mittens’ Feb. 19-21
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19-21, the First Universalist Parish of Chester, 211 North St. (Route 103) in Chester, will sell “Bernie Mittens” made by parish members as a fund-raiser for the church. The sale will take place at the church at from 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday and Sunday and 10 a.m. […]
Collaborative hosts pianist, recovered addict Benjamin Lerner
The Londonderry-based Collaborative’s Refuse to Use program is offering a virtual evening of recovery and music beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25 with guest artist composer, writer, radio host and recovery advocate Benjamin Lerner. Lerner, who lives in Vermont, will share his personal experience and struggles with addiction – as well as his […]
Londonderry community to set action priorities on Feb. 25
All members of the Londonderry community are invited to participate in the second phase of the One Londonderry process to set direction for the future of the town. The meeting, to be held virtually (on Zoom via computer, tablet, or phone) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 25, will follow up on the […]
Grace Cottage hosts Cabin Fever Online Auction
Too much time stuck at home? Ready to dream for the future? Grace Cottage’s Annual Cabin Fever Online Auction, held now through Feb. 24, offers a chance to bid on Caribbean trips, an African safari, local foods, outings to local restaurants and inns, fun outdoor venues, arts & crafts and more. Included are an array […]
Chester Townscape offers trees, shrubs for sale
Chester Townscape has released its selections for this year’s Tree and Shrub Sale to support Townscape’s public landscaping projects, such as the flowering planters and bridge boxes and other seasonal decorations that beautify public places around town. CT’s annual Tree and Shrub Sale provides landowners with the opportunity to beautify their own properties with good-size, […]
Left in Andover: Grandma Freda’s determined life
By Susan Leader ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC After Mom died in 2012, I inherited my maternal grandmother Freda Freund Bergman’s intimate diary in a box of mementos I brought back to Vermont. The fraying, soft-leather five-year journal holds Grandma’s unexpurgated entries from when she and the 20th century were both in their 40s. I doubt […]
Chester Chatter: Remembering Johnnie Walker
By Ruthie Douglas ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Johnnie Walker had come up from working in a foundry in New Jersey to work with horses at a boys’ school in Jamaica. He was extremely talented in working with those horses, but he didn’t know how to read or write. With the closing of the school, he […]
Henry Homeyer: A winter soup for you, from your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC There is something about a bowl of warm soup on a cold winter day that warms the heart and soul as well as filling the tummy. And if the ingredients are from your own garden, the soup tastes even better! Here is a soup I made largely with […]
