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Chester Chatter: A porch makes a home

Chester Chatter: A porch makes a home

By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every house should have a porch because that is what make a house a home. A porch is a place to step outside under a roof. Although a deck is nice, it can’t take the place of a porch. Put a roof on it. My family had a […]

Henry Homeyer: 3 plants to vehemently avoid

Henry Homeyer: 3 plants to vehemently avoid

A note from Henry:  In a recent article about tomatoes, I mentioned garlic and onions in my sauce, but it has been pointed out to me that sauce with those ingredients needs to be cooked in a pressure cooker at 240 degrees for 10 minutes to avoid botulism. By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC […]

Cavendish Fund awards three grants; Springfield Rotary cancels Penny Sale

Cavendish Fund awards three grants; Springfield Rotary cancels Penny Sale

Cavendish Fund awards three grants Dou McBride, president of the Cavendish Community Fund, has announced that the fund awarded three  $1,000 grants this summer to local organizations for community-based projects. The first award was to fund the summer music series on Proctorsville’s Svec Memorial Green. Each year the town engages several local bands to entertain […]

Left in Andover: Local newspapers, social trust

Left in Andover: Local newspapers, social trust

By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Mrs. Frieda Bergman is spending some time at the Herbert Leader home” in Andover. The deep winter time frame for my maternal grandmother’s visit was possible because she had taken a job teaching in a nearby one room school. “Seven little friends,” continued correspondent Estelle Bentley’s March 1952 […]

Chester Chatter: Wash day, the longest day

Chester Chatter: Wash day, the longest day

By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Homemakers of the 1950s were apt to keep a routine for their household chores. Monday meant wash day. The wringer washing machine was kept in the unheated back room, so come Saturday night Dad wheeled the machine into the house to warm up. As we kids got ready […]

Henry Homeyer: tomatoes, your garden's royal family

Henry Homeyer: tomatoes, your garden’s royal family

By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC If I could only bring the seeds of one plant with me when exiled to a distant island, I would bring tomato seeds. Tomatoes are the center of much of my cuisine from soups and stews to sandwiches and salads. They are tasty raw or cooked, are healthy […]

New bench in Chester memorializes Suzy Forlie

New bench in Chester memorializes Suzy Forlie

© 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Visitors to the Hearse House and the Public Tomb across from Chester’s Green will notice the addition of a granite bench with the inscription “In Memory of Suzy Henry Forlie.” Forlie, who died on April 16, 2020, was a member of Chester Townscape and was instrumental in the repair and […]

Left in Andover: Tackling adversity and bridging differences

Left in Andover: Tackling adversity and bridging differences

By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Teaching is my job,” wrote Scott Nearing from Forest Farm, his remote Winhall homestead, in 1944. “I have been sure of that ever since I gave my first sociology courses at Temple University, Philadelphia, back in 1903. Teaching has three essential aspects: 1) to arouse interest,  2) to […]

Chester Chatter: The tale of toad and frog

Chester Chatter: The tale of toad and frog

By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the late 1960s, the government gave money to lots of small Vermont towns to be used for summer programs for children. Just down the road from my house was the town of Bartonsville. It was in a different county from my farmhouse but my daughters still were […]

Henry Homeyer: Perennials that love moisture

Henry Homeyer: Perennials that love moisture

By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC I am lucky. Even though my property is relatively small – just over 2 acres – I have all the possible growing conditions a plant could want: wet, dry, sunny and shady. And I’m willing to try almost anything that will survive 20 or 25 below in winter. […]

Kinhaven faculty gives concert on Weston Green

Kinhaven faculty gives concert on Weston Green

Nearly 100 Weston residents and neighbors were on hand this past Saturday for the return of live music to the Weston Village Green presented by the faculty of the Kinhaven Music School. The program included selections from Bach, Paganini, O’Connor, Dvorak, Mendelssohn and Perrault. Artists included Deborah Buck on violin, who is also Kinhaven co-executive […]

70th Grace Cottage Fair Auction through Monday

70th Grace Cottage Fair Auction through Monday

The 70th Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day will go on, with some of the traditional elements intact. The first fair was held on Aug. 5, 1950, organized by the Grace Cottage Hospital Auxiliary, with a healthy mix of fun, fellowship, and fundraising that has been vital to sustaining the hospital’s patient care. An auction, T-shirts […]

Whiting Library reopens Aug. 3 by appointment

Whiting Library reopens Aug. 3 by appointment

The Whiting Library, 117 Main St, in Chester, will be reopening the library building to the public by appointment only beginning Monday, Aug. 3. Patrons will be required to call in advance at 875-2277 to schedule a 25-minute appointment slot. Appointments will be available at 11 and 11:30 a.m. and noon and 12:30 p.m. Monday, […]

Left in Andover: A step back to go forward in women's health care

Left in Andover: A step back to go forward in women’s health care

By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Brattleboro Hospital was the place to deliver when I had my two babies in the mid-1980s. It had been early to adopt woman-centric policies, offering my women friends and me wide latitude in our birth plans. But Springfield was a shorter drive from my home in Andover. I […]

Chester Chatter: Ah, those trips to the dump

Chester Chatter: Ah, those trips to the dump

By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Yippee! Yippee! School was out and summer vacation had begun for me and my sister. My Uncle Kenny had a butcher shop and small grocery in front of our house. The shop was closed on Mondays and my sister and I would hang out with him. We really […]

Henry Homeyer: beyond the perennials, unique ways to make your garden your own

Henry Homeyer: beyond the perennials, unique ways to make your garden your own

By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC My garden is the place I go in times of sadness, worry or stress. It makes me feel better. I took a few moments one morning recently to really look at what was in my garden to see what made it so special. I saw that in addition […]

Chester quilter among winners at Billings exhibit

Chester quilter among winners at Billings exhibit

Linda Diak of Chester has been chosen as one of several winners of the Juror’s Choice Awards during the 34th Annual Quilt Exhibition of the Billings Farm & Museum, 69 Old River Road in Woodstock. She and other winners were announced during the exhibit’s opening reception on Friday, July 17. The Quilt Exhibition, which runs […]

Beautification group keeps Derry blooming

Beautification group keeps Derry blooming

Londonderry’s Beautification Commission and Friends of Main Street overcame all obstacles from Covid-19 to ensure barrels and bridge boxes were planted and distributed throughout town. The planters are filled with colorful, thriving flowers to brighten the community, providing a great lift to residents and visitors during this most challenging time. Covid-19 guidelines restricted the annual […]

Left in Andover: Home in the hills of Vermont

Left in Andover: Home in the hills of Vermont

By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Due to the pandemic, scores of non-resident property owners have worked remotely from area ski and vacation homes. Many will choose to remain as full-time residents. And even more will continue to find their way here as air travel becomes increasingly problematic. I believe future leaders of our […]

Chester Chatter: Air conditioning ushered in changes

Chester Chatter: Air conditioning ushered in changes

By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Growing up I did not know anyone who had air conditioning in their homes. This was the 1950s. No one had air conditioning in their car, either. We had one big fan that we moved around from room to room, whereever we were. Often we sat on our […]