meeyauw: July 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Orleans County Quests: Orleans Village Quest

The quest began at Orleans Elementary School

The Dana Carbonneau Memorial Garden

Dana Carbonneau, the principal of Orleans Elementary School, was estimated to be the eleventh person ever killed in Vermont because of a collision with a moose after he hit one in Woodbury on June 13, 2003. The first human fatality was in the early 1980s, said Mr. Hamelin.

For an excellent article on moose safety, reprinted from the Barton Chronicle, click here.

The photo above is by Wingnut. He was very interested in this because it is so different than the ones in Connecticut.

The first log cabin in Orleans, built by Paul and David McNeal in 1827. It is only 15 square feet. There was no sugarhouse vent then, of course. Seen on Cottage St, Orleans in somebody's backyard.

Orleans Post Office

The first church of Orleans and the Orleans Brickyard
were originally on this site of the post office.

Jones Memorial Library, Orleans
which is where I first saw this sign
(click the sign to read more about this Vermont phenomenon):

Barton River; taken on the Rt. 58 bridge in Orleans Village

Orleans Mural Project, 1996
Randi left me a comment at Flickr that she helped paint this in school!

The first blacksmith shop in Orleans. Now this is the Senior Center (the Orleans Mural is on the left side as seen in this photo).

Site of the railroad staton. The factory is Ethan Allen Furniture. The station was in the area of the grass and trees.

Orleans General Store

Cole's Market, formerly Orleans's second school, built in 1855. The back of this building still contains part of the original school.

Metal footbridge over the Barton River.
For more photos of this footbridge, click here.

Another view of Ethan Allen from the footbridge.

A house built in 1855.

Two dalmatians across the road from the 1855 house.

Orleans Federated Church, on the site of Orleans's second school.
You can view this church in winter here.

The original bell from the Orleans Church. The bell is engraved:
"McShane Bell Foundry, Baltimore, Maryland, 1891"

Matt & Wingnut at Stone Flume

Photos by Matt of Wingnut enjoying sliding down the flume across the road on a hot summer day after a hike.

I learned the name of this flume from the Barton Town Map, page 5, found at the Town Clerk office. A gentleman named Barnard used to have a grist mill here. The ruins are still visible.

Above: May Brook as it enters the flume.
Below: May Brook as it starts down the flume.

Below: my house as viewed from the flume with zoom lens.

Stone Flume Flickr Set

And finally, a video that Matt made of the flume.

Technorati Tags: Stone Flume, May Brook
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Matt's Heron

The blackbirds are leaving now so the herons are returning. Matt was fortunate to get excellent photos of one the other day. Above: his unprocessed photo. Below: my crop of it.

Above: his unprocessed photo. Below: my crop of it. The blur is from the optical zoom that attempts to "draw" the photo from data it has.

Technorati Tags: great blue heron, Ardea herodias
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Book Review: John Lennon & The Mercy St. Cafe

I first "met" William Hammett through One Single Impression because besides writing novels, he writes poetry. Billy has four sites: Zen Sociology, Chapter and Verse, William Hammet and The Ghostwriting Weblog. He is an great writer and a very considerate blogger.

I imagine that any writer would not like being compared to another, but I can't help comparing this book to a Stephen King novel. This is King without the gore and horror. This is looking at other dimensions and being fascinated, not terrified.

Amy is walking in New York City one day when she happens across John Lennon singing in a cafe. After he has died. She, Lennon and David journey through time and space for reasons made clear and not made clear by the end. Amy and her companions may be fearful of their journey but they lead us forward with courage and a great sense of adventure and a feeling that there are reasons this is happening to them. The reader is taken on a lovely journey through the history of the Beatles and of the groups that begot the Beatles.

I was unable to put the book down once I started it. The writing is engaging, the concept is memorable. It is funny; it is sad. It is thought provoking. I became very involved with the characters. I think all lovers of fiction (and the Beatles) should grab this book today by clicking on Billy's site and ordering the book.

Technorati Tags: William Hammett, John Lennon & The Mercy St. Cafe
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Vermont Life Reviews Our Restaurants

Goldie's Gathering, Cabot:
Across from Town Hall and next door to the hardware store — a perfect location for this new local favorite. Chefs Scott St. John — who also cooks at the Cabot K-12 school — and Brian Rossell — a local boy and New England Culinary Institute grad — supply the eats that keep the regulars happy. From pancakes at breakfast to stuffed filet of sole at dinner, Goldie's dishes it out and draws them in.
802.563.3377

Elements, St. Johnsbury:
Located in an old wood-working mill on the Passumpsic River, this dining spot offers what chef and co-owner Florence Chamberlin calls "modern-American" cuisine, with a heavy emphasis on local production: cheeses from Jasper Hill Farm, mushrooms from celebrity foragers Nova Kim and Les Hook, homemade breads, pies and ice creams. Attentive waitstaff may even entertain your children while you enjoy the signature smoked trout cakes.
www.elementsfood.com; 748.8400

The Parson's Corner, Barton:
Enjoy bacon and eggs, burgers, and sandwiches in an 1867 parsonage. Lunch dishes of "hearty New England fare" are on tap: turkey dinner, Yankee pot roast, baked beans, clam chowder and — yum! — chicken potpie. My review: great food but the service could be vastly improved. I always leave well-fed but very irritated.
802.525.4500

The Parker Pie Co., West Glover;
This tiny eatery in the back of the Lake Parker Country Store offers thin-crust, "artisan" pizza, Vermont brews, calzones, salads, killer dessert pies, and a clientele that could be auditioning for a remake of "Hair." My review: just the perfect place to go on Friday night. But I want to go on Wednesday night when it is Pasta Night (if they still have it!). As for "clientele . . . Hair"? I'm tired of these depictions . . . shame on Vermont Life.
www.parkerpie.com; 802.525.3366

Technorati Tags: Parker Pie Co., Elements, Parson's Corner, Goldie's Gathering, Northeast Kingdom, restaurants
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Orleans County Quests: Glover Runaway Pond Quest

On Sunday, Matt, Wingnut and I did the Glover Runaway Pond Quest.

In Commemoration of the breaking away of Long Pond
June 6, 1810. Erected by the Town of Glover
June 6, 1910.

Long Pond/Runaway Pond/Dry Pond

In 1810 the water level of Long Pond was 70 feet above this marker and the water flowed south into Greensboro and the Lamoille River.

Needing more water to power Aaron Willson's grist mill in Glover, 60 men and boys dug a ditch on the north shore (about 0.5 miles north of here) to cause the water to flow into the Glover/Barton River.

Due to the Quicksand in the earth, the entire hillside washed away and the pond "ran-a-way" discharging its billion gallons of water toward the mill in 1.5 hours.

Spencer Chamberlain raced ahead of the wall of water for 5 miles and saved the miller's wife.

Glover Historical Society 1996

An old millstone.

Runaway Pond today

The Old Road to the Clearing where the men and boys
tried to divert water to the Barton River.
The quicksand, where Matt got stuck, is up there.

A memorial in the Clearing

Old woods road in the Clearing.
Woods roads were made out of wood, as can be seen here.

Clark's Pond

If you look closely you can see an old stump in the pond. This is the last remaining stump of 12 stumps. The twelve trees that were here in 1810 were snapped off by the rushing waters of Long Pond.