I didn't have a grandmother who lived ''over the river and through the woods,'' as the song says, but in my mind Thanksgiving was indeed a cornucopia of country good stuff.
Long before I understood the culinary artistry of my grandmother's and mother's simple but elegant cooking, I understood the spirit of the event and danced with anticipation of the visiting, eating, smelling of good things, conversation with people of all ages about all sorts of things, and endless football. For many years, we visited old family friends in the country from our suburban home and Grandma's urban one.
I remember those times as really exciting, from the year I put my first penny on the railroad tracks to be flattened and shining when it was retrieved, to our first taste of wild turkey harvested by our friends' dad, to the year my brother fell in the pool.
He was about 5, and I still don't know exactly what he was thinking, but in he went with his little bow tie. Three grown men dove in after him, also fully clothed. He emerged sheepish, wet, bow tie intact, and hungry for turkey.
Vermont-grown trees of all shapes and sizes will be sold daily in front of the Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road from Nov. 26 until Dec. 9 for the 58th annual Brattleboro Rotary Club Christmas Tree Fundraiser. The trees will be on sale from noon to 6 p.m. on weekdays...
Gov. Phil Scott and the Department for Children and Families (DCF) have announced the release of $20 million in Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding for households that heat with fuel oil, propane, kerosene, coal, electricity, and natural gas. “We know many are feeling the burden of high...
We in the United States have seen a long, tragic pandemic, we have just come through an election season, and in the past few years we have seen a reawakening of racial justice activism. What, in this challenging age, can we Americans preserve from our traditional Thanksgiving traditions, and what can/should we learn from new data around us - not only for our own spiritual growth, perhaps, but also for the common good? As many of us have come to...
Like you, we were devastated to learn of the horrific mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs over the weekend. We mourn for those whose lives were taken, and our hearts are with their family and friends, those who survived the attack, and the entire Colorado community. We stand together in heartbreak with our LGBTQ+ community nationwide, whose sense of safety has been shattered yet again by this unthinkable tragedy. This grief is not unfamiliar. This is not an...
I wish to thank the voters of Windham 8/Brattleboro District 2 for once again selecting me to be their representative in Montpelier. I am thrilled and honored to be chosen. I had so many wonderful encounters and conversations with constituents as I campaigned door-to-door. People were genuinely friendly and forthcoming. I appreciated connecting with old friends and acquaintances and getting to know new people, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic. I am excited to continue the work I have...
The art gallery at Next Stage, NXT Gallery, presents Joe Norris's “Elemental Abstractions: Works on Paper,” opening Saturday, Nov. 26, with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. that is free and open to the public. According to organizers, Norris's paintings “explore the area between representational art and total abstraction. Implying, rather than rendering, invites the viewer to participate, [...] to engage with the created image. Through use of color, composition and texture, he aims to create the essence of...
In every Vermont town, a majority of voters on Nov. 8 supported Proposal 5, the measure that wrote reproductive liberties into the Vermont Constitution. Results from the Vermont Secretary of State's Office show the campaign for Proposal 5, also known as Article 22, succeeded in building a sweeping coalition of support, far beyond liberal Chittenden County and the state's more-populous, deep-blue downtowns. Overall, the measure prevailed by a vote of 77% to 23%. And virtually every corner of the state...
Town announces Thanksgiving closures BRATTLEBORO - In Observance of Thanksgiving, all Town Offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25, with the exception of emergency services. Brooks Memorial Library will close at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23. They will be closed on Nov. 24 but will remain open during normal business hours on Nov. 25. Trash and recycling will not be picked up on Nov. 24. All trash and recycling pick-up will be delayed by...
I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks to the voters of Windham County for your strong support of me in the race for assistant judge. I truly appreciate the trust you have placed in me and the continued opportunity to participate in public service to our Windham County community.
I am humbled and incredibly grateful to be entrusted with the opportunity to represent you in the Vermont State Senate. This campaign has taken me to every corner of our county and has opened my eyes to the nuances of the challenges we face. It has also provided me with the opportunity to learn about solutions, collaborate with people who have different experiences, and develop ideas on how we can move forward. While I am immensely proud and excited to...
Obituaries • Rita Blodgett, 74, of Springfield, Vermont. Died Nov. 6, 2022, at the Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center. She was born on Nov. 17, 1947 to Leo and Ida (Raymond) Fournier. Rita loved to play Bingo, listen to music, go for walks, and being with her friends. She was known for her famous popcorn. Rita is survived by her daughters Lynette (Chris) Silver and Michelle (Donald) Laurendeau, grandchildren Megan and Brittnay Laurendeau, and great-granddaughter Breille. She was predeceased by...
Solstice, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas - the revelry begins! As winter's dark grows, area arts entities are gearing up for a bright, lively holiday season. Listings of those events, including any Covid precautions, may be found in The Commons, on brattleboro.com, and on organizations' websites. • In the lively arts, New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) offers a holiday show, “The Flying CocoNut,” featuring adult and youth circus student performers and a special guest artist. “Inspired by The Nutcracker,” a...
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has launched his 13th annual State of the Union Essay Contest. Each year, the President of the United States delivers the “State of the Union” address to a joint session of Congress, which outlines priorities for the coming year. Sanders says that great ideas can come from anyone - not just those in power - which is why he created the State of the Union Essay Contest to encourage young people to engage in the political...
Incentives up to $500 are available to Windham and Windsor county homeowners to encourage them to open their homes to housemates. Sharing Housing, Inc. recently announced the launch of the pilot program SHIFT (Shared Housing Incentives for Taking Action). “With housing in such a crisis in our community, the SHIFT program addresses one aspect of a complex problem,” the group said in a news release. “Almost one-third of all households in Windham and Windsor counties are spending more than 30%
The surge in crime was supposed to be the Republicans' ticket to a landslide in the 2022 midterms. For a variety of reasons - mainly, the general awfulness of the Republicans running for office - this challenging issue that generally works for the right wing did not come through for them. It may also be due to the fact that the primary Republican solution to crime - lock away all Black men - is cruel, racist, and, of course, ineffective.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the general election here in Windham-6. Thank you to each voter who considered my candidacy for state representative. Thank you to those who trusted me with your vote. I have all your voices, all your stories, with me as I pack for the session in Montpelier that starts Jan. 4. As someone who was once a shy kid, the last six months have been a gift. I've seen a lot of Windham County...
The United Way of Windham County has begun its Kids in Coats campaign, and the organization reports being one quarter of the way toward its goal of raising $15,000. Kids in Coats serves income-eligible families with children from birth to sixth grade to help them obtain essential winter gear. Families who would not be able to access these warm clothes turn to the fund each year for assistance. According to the United Way, 100% of the donations to Kids in...
Living Memorial Park has been around for nearly 70 years and is a beloved part of the town's life. In recent years, however, that love hasn't extended to making long-term improvements to facilities at the park. The result, according to Recreation & Parks Director Carol Lolatte, is that some of its most popular venues - the Nelson Withington Skating Facility, its two softball diamonds, and the Kiwanis Picnic Shelter, among them - need upgrades. And they need them sooner rather...
Money and opportunity have the Marlboro School community weighing whether to retain the present configuration of pre-K through grade 8 or to send the 13 seventh- and eighth-graders at the school to classes elsewhere. Currently, 85 students attend the school, which is part of the Windham Central Supervisory Union. High- school-age students have been attending various schools through school choice and, if it's decided to eliminate the seventh and eighth grades, those students will as well. The next community meeting...
I was full of Christmas cheer as I took a trolley from Cambridge to Boston to wait for the train to Brattleboro. It was snowing heavily. I was excited about spending a Vermont Christmas with my brother Paddy, his wife Betty, and their little daughter Leish, but I was also excited at the thought of meeting my girlfriend Tina in New York after Christmas. To my surprise, I began to realize how very close we'd become in a short time.
The monument in West Kingston, Rhode Island to the Great Swamp Fight of Dec. 19, 1675 commemorates the vicious clash between colonial militia (and some of their Native American allies) and the Narragansett people. I can trace the portion of me who is a Bosworth back to one of the colonists who fought that day, John Bosworth. While I was growing up, my family was proud that my father's paternal line, though not among the 1620 Pilgrims, had immigrated to...
The Vermont Jazz Center's Big Band will present its annual Scholarship Gala on Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. This event is the primary fundraiser for the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) Scholarship Fund, which grants an annual average of $27,000 in scholarships to students, offsetting fees for VJC ensembles, private lessons, and its summer jazz workshop. This year, the band will feature clarinetist/vocalist Evan Arntzen in a tribute to one of America's most important composers, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, as...
The master of physical comedy and death-defying stunts returns to the big screen at Epsilon Spires on Saturday, November 26, with a double feature of silent Buster Keaton movies accompanied by a live pipe organ soundtrack. The evening begins with the short film The Scarecrow, followed by one of Keaton's greatest feature-length films, Our Hospitality. New Hampshire-based organist Jeff Rapsis will perform a live soundtrack for both movies on the historic 1906 Estey pipe organ installed in the sanctuary of...
BEEC hosts 'Grateful Forest' event WEST BRATTLEBORO - Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC),1223 Bonnyvale Road, offers an alternative to the consumerism of Black Friday, Nov. 25, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Amanda Kenyon of Landkind Guide will lead a forest immersion experience focusing on gratitude. Kenyon will invite participants to slow down and connect with nature in a meaningful and memorable way. With a unique and relaxing approach rooted in shinrin-yoku (translated literally as “forest bathing”), this experience taps into...
The 44th Putney Craft Tour, the oldest continuous craft tour in the country, takes place Thanksgiving weekend - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Nov. 25, 26, and 27 - from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and features a diverse group of artists sharing a passion for creativity. “This year, we have 20 artists on the tour,” Ken Pick, one of the founding members, said in a news release. “It's never been more than 28.” The artisans, including new and returning members,
Sandglass Theater's signature event, A Rafter of Crankies, will take place on Thanksgiving weekend in the atmospheric big hall of Green Mountain Orchards, 130 West Hill Road. Performances will take place on Friday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5 and 7:30 p.m. This year's crankie artists include annual favorites Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, Anna Patton, and Brendan Taaffe. Donald Saaf will be rejoining the crew with something brand new. And, for the...
The Brattleboro Historical Society celebrated its 40th anniversary on Nov. 12 with an open house, a birthday cake, and a presentation by baseball historian and memorabilia collector Dana Sprague. Sprague, a Brattleboro Union High School graduate who played for the Colonels when they won the 1978 state baseball championship, has one of the largest private collections of Vermont baseball artifacts in existence. He brought some of that collection, along with plenty of stories of the long history of baseball in...
For three decades, the free public Thanksgiving dinner at downtown Burlington's Sweetwaters American Bistro surmounted countless challenges, from finding enough tables to seat an annual count of 1,000 people to switching to takeout during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It never crossed my mind not to do something,” longtime owner David Melincoff said of all the hurdles. Then Melincoff sold the restaurant this year and retired, bringing an end - at least temporarily - to a 31-year tradition. “With Covid and not...
Jennifer Tolaro-Heidbrink, a lifelong area resident, has just been named the new executive director of Parks Place Community Resource Center, its fifth since the facility opened in 1995. Though Parks Place was created more than a quarter century ago, Tolaro-Heidbrink says that people in the community and even some local officials are just not sure what the center does. The organization's mission is “to create opportunities by connecting people and resources in the Greater Falls area.” In practical terms, that...
From Thanksgiving through the holiday season, we get the sweet little clementines, tangerines, and sometimes mandarin oranges. My Christmas Clementine and Cardamom Cake makes a nice use of them - all of them, as you use every bit of the fruit except the seeds. You can also substitute another favorite sweet orange, but adjust the amount accordingly. Every year, I give away these cakes at Christmastime; it's become a ritual, along with making the candied orange peels with my granddaughter.
Much has been written in the literature of public health about the shocking maternal mortality rate in the United States. Occasionally, media reports the alarming rate when there is a hook. Advocates concerned with women and health illuminate the problem in reports and at conferences. But in light of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision on abortion, new urgency arose in addressing U.S. maternal mortality and its causes because of the link between reproductive rights and the persistence of inherent racial...