Mike DeLaus and Susan Feindt and their three sons Michael, Robert, and Daniel, live in Andover, Massachusetts. Sam and Janet Nork, also from Andover, introduced the DeLaus family to Quechee. Susan says they like being part of the Quechee community because of “the people” and the fact that is very family-oriented. “Everyone that we’ve met through the ski team have been great,” says Susan and adds, “We really like getting away from school, work, just relaxing. There is always something to do outdoors no matter what the season.” Noting that the scenery and surroundings are beautiful, Susan says, “We want to be in Quechee whenever we can.… Read More

Too much of something isn’t always a good thing – but sometimes it can be. Residents at Woodstock Terrace discovered just that when they inventoried the many donations of crafting supplies, books, and jigsaw puzzles they’ve collected over the years. Their storage closets were bursting! “This is a generation that doesn’t get rid of anything,” said Briana Maxham, the Terrace’s Life Enrichment Director, “which is how the Puzzle Club got its start.”

A few years ago, two residents who were avid puzzlers decided to start a club to work through the large supply already on hand. They started by counting the pieces of each puzzle and discarding any puzzles missing more than one or two pieces.… Read More

In 1979, while living in our home town of Lowell, MA, a friend invited Deb and I and, at that time, our three little boys — Rob, Peter, and Mike — to use his house in Quechee in the winter. We wound up having a great week and loved every aspect of the Quechee lifestyle.

From 1979 to 1982 we rented, and in 1986 we bought our home on Hard Road. In 1990, having been impacted by the recession, and with lots of college tuition on the horizon, we decided we needed to become a “one home family.” Despite having lots of professional advice about where the best career opportunities were, we chose Quechee, and have never had a moment of regret!… Read More

We aim to spend about one-third of each officer’s time in proactively building and fostering relationships in the community, says Hartford Police Chief Phil Kasten. The majority of calls to the police are from a crisis of one sort or another, and police officers train for those moments, with the possible need for quick and sometimes drastic action. But preventing crises is even better than helping people through crises. Weaving sociable acquaintance with police officers into people’s daily experience makes it easier for people to call the police for help when they need it. It also reminds would-be troublemakers that police officers are woven into the community and are keeping an eye on what is happening in the community.… Read More

There is a new gem hidden in the surrounding hills and hollows of the Upper Valley. The Grange Theatre in Pomfret, Vermont, formerly the Teago Grange Hall, is the newest branch of the ArtisTree Community Arts Center. The theatre’s first season wrapped up in late October. Maybe you were lucky enough to see The Little Mermaid or get a seat for the sold-out Patsy Cline. If you’ve been to a show already, you were probably impressed before it even started. The old grange still looks like a well-maintained meeting hall where over the years countless couples married and community dinners were served.… Read More

The Smithsonian Museum is referred to as the nation’s attic. In Hartford, Vermont, the Historical Society performs this same function, though without much in the way of resources; it’s an attic at capacity. The Society’s collection is currently displayed in Garipay House at 1461 Maple Street (near the intersection of Route 14 and Christian Street). The house-museum is open weekday mornings, and the whole project is a labor of love for a few devoted volunteers.

You’d never know it from the well-kept, crisp displays, but Garipay House is bursting with additional objects of interest in storage rooms. Gray storage shelves hold boxes of various sizes and shapes.… Read More

As a Quechee Lakes Landowners’ Association (QLLA) Trustee since 2015, Norman Watts’ impression of the state of QLLA governance is important. His response to my inquiry about it was, “I am very confident that the ship is being sailed well. The skipper is competent and very concerned about the members. It’s a good crew.” This statement is quite an apt analogy from someone who has also been an avid sailor most of his life.

Norman’s initial impression of Quechee Lakes when he moved here in 2000 was not always as positive. One of the reasons why he ran for the trustee position was to “encourage and support the momentum QLLA had demonstrated over the past five to six years, so we don’t drift into a stall like when we first relocated to Quechee Lakes.… Read More

This past spring, the Quechee Lakes Real Estate Center changed hands, and became the Brick & Barn Real Estate Group. Herb Hart and Scott Rome now own the business, which offers professional real estate services for buyers and sellers. Former owner Charlie Bacon, who ran the Quechee Lakes Real Estate center since 1995, is staying on with Brick & Barn during the transition period, as is longtime agent, Carol Dewey Davidson whose Quechee roots span generations (Dewey’s Mills) and whose former husband was the original visionary/developer of Quechee Lakes, L. John Davidson.

New owner Herb Hart has spent 14 years working in the Quechee area real estate market, most recently with Quechee Lakes Rentals.… Read More

They say you can tell a lot about a person by watching the behavior of their pets. On that basis, you’d expect Deb and Randy Ries to be sociable and easy to connect with, an expectation that is borne out in conversation in their cozy living room, with cats and beagles begging for a belly rub. (The humans confined their sociability to telling stories.)

The humans are also way more hardworking than the pets. Deb and Randy run Upper Valley Critter Sitters, a business that goes 24/7, 365 days a year (plus one for leap year). The couple, with some assistance from two regular and several fill-in helpers, provide extensive pet care, as well as house sitting and checking, in Quechee and beyond.… Read More

Sitting alone in his wheelchair at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (VA) in White River Junction, a Vietnam veteran watched the visiting dog and panicked shouting, “I’m terrified of dogs!” Somehow, by the end of the visit he was smiling and Regan, the therapy dog, was in his lap.

Quechee resident Patt Taylor and Regan – his 4-year-old Golden Retriever who is a therapy dog – visit the VA weekly. In preparation, Patt did a lot of research into therapy dogs, he and Regan took obedience classes and went through a rigorous evaluation process for Regan’s accreditation through Therapy Dog International.… Read More