The Quechee Garden Club will hold its Annual Plant & Bake Sale on the Village Green, Saturday, May 17 from 8am-12pm.

Shoppers will find a variety of annuals, herbs, vegetable starters, and hanging baskets supplied from local greenhouses along with perennials from members’ gardens.

“We’ll have a variety of plants to kick start your summer garden, and our members will be on hand to help with questions or selection,” said Carol Rynk, QGC co-president. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we appreciate the community response. The proceeds from this sale help to support village beautification, local school outreach, and an annual college scholarship award.”

Marge Gray, selling plants to a customer at the annual Quechee
Garden Club plant sale

In addition, the bake sale table, back by popular demand, will offer plenty of fresh-baked cookies, breads, and cupcakes to take home. For more information, visit quecheegardenclub.com.

Meetings this spring have been replete with helpful tips for gardening. On March 6th, Lisa Steinberg began her presentation by saying that there are three essentials for great plants: light, soil, and water. She said, “Plants need light to photosynthesize. All plants need a bright spot to actually thrive. West and southern exposures are best but if you can’t get that, think about grow lights; they come in all shapes and sizes.”

Continuing her tips, she talked about soil. “A good aerated soil can help the roots get oxygen and help the water drain. Think about adding perlite which lightens the soil and helps the roots get the oxygen they need.”

Water is the third essential element for great plants. Lisa said, “Check for dry soil with a water meter, or just by sticking your finger in it! Clear pots can really make your job easier; you’ll be able to see what’s going on with the soil, and you can take your pot straight to the sink to water. Give it a thorough drink, and wait for the water to drain out the bottom. Then put it back into an outer pot. That way your plant is not sitting in water, and there will be less chance of its roots rotting. Most plants that are struggling are getting too much water!”

Valerie Woodhouse, from Honey Field Farm in Norwich, VT, the
April 3 speaker

On April 3rd, Valerie Woodhouse from Honey Field Farm in Norwich gave a presentation on herbs. She had slides with information about growing, nourishing, drying, and using herbs for culinary, medicinal, and decorative purposes. If you want herbs that will come back every year, bigger and stronger, she said to try chives, thyme, sage, oregano, mint, lemon balm, French tarragon, and winter savory. In Vermont, parsley, rosemary, lavender, lemon verbena, and bay laurel are grown like annuals due to our harsh winters. She said that growing herbs from nursery starts gives quicker results with less effort and risk, as opposed to starting from seed or from rooted cuttings. A useful suggestion is to give aggressive herbs such as mint, lemon balm, cilantro, dill, chamomile, oregano, and parsley their own planters. As for harvesting, Valerie said “harvesting during the cooler morning or evening periods will lead to less wilting, and herb cuttings that last longer.”

On May 8, Jo Evarts will be our guest speaker. Her topic is: “The Influence of the Italian Renaissance Architecture on the Cornish Colony, NH.” Carol Rynk says, “Jo Evarts, historian, writer, journalist, and teacher, will discuss the design elements of the Cornish, NH art colony of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. She has been living on a Cornish Colony family estate since 1996.” We are excited to have her as our speaker again.

Quechee’s venerable F. H. Clothing Company owner, Joan Ecker, designed and produced her first “Fat Hats” 46 years ago on a human-powered treadle machine, selling them out of a wooden barrel at craft fair shows all over the Northeast. On one occasion, while selling in front of Lincoln Center, a New York Times reporter asked what else she made. Joan spied a passerby in a poncho – a popular garment at the time – and said “ponchos!” Soon after, while caring for her young children as a single mom, Joan made the proverbial leap into entrepreneurship and never looked back. Joan’s straightforward personality and ‘can-do’ attitude led to bartering with a builder friend willing to trade his carpentry skills to help construct her dream home for a “warm, fun hat” from her then sewing workshop, set up outside under a tarp. It’s this kind of collaborative thinking that has grown the F.H. Clothing Company into not only a successful clothing company, but also an environmentally conscious business that supports the local community.

The Mesh Bag Mama mascot, created by Cornish-based metal
artist, Joanne Clifford

Joan runs “Fat Hat”, as it is fondly known locally, with her daughters Sara and Jenn, along with professional pattern maker, Lak Vorachek, and several sewers. Each season’s clothing designs are sewn in New York in a facility that is open, airy, comfortable, and with safe working conditions for the sewers. In addition to keeping the business humming along serving 130 boutique clothing stores across the country and the national catalog Artful Home, the trio has supported a number of community causes over the years. The Fat Hat team made masks to sell all over the country to keep the staff employed during COVID and donated free Fat Hats to cancer patients nationwide in honor of Joan’s mother.

Most recently, Joan agreed to support the “Mesh Bag Mamas” project, an initiative of the NH Network Plastics Working Group. The project offers free, handmade reusable mesh bags to area grocery stores to encourage customers to ‘Ditch the Produce Plastic’ and reduce single-use plastic bag waste and pollution. The bags are made of washable organic cotton mesh decorated with the Japanese symbol for Earth, and they can transport fruits and vegetables home before they’re stored either in the refrigerator or on the counter top. Included with each bag is a postcard that outlines the hazards of single-use plastic and how to reduce its use to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

The Mesh Bag Mamas project began in 2023, with 30 volunteers from around the Upper Valley sewing 1,200 bags for distribution at area co-ops and grocery stores. Funding was provided by the Food Co-op, Sustainable Lebanon, Community Action Works, and private donations. NH songwriter, Mary Armstrong, wrote the “Mesh Bag Mama” song, which was performed at the Lebanon Co-op, and metal artist, Joanne Clifford, of Cornish created the Mesh Bag Mama mascot – a metal sculpture of a goddess wrapped in scraps of mesh. Fundraising efforts for supplies and labor for the project are ongoing by members of the Plastics Working Group, and the first round of 250 bags will be made available at the Woodstock Farmers Market this summer. Amelia Rappaport, a manager at the market, says the bag project aligns with the market’s sustainability efforts: “We love reusable bags, and would love for everyone to have them!”

Interestingly, Vermont has had a ban on single-use items in place since 2020, which includes plastic bags, but only covers bags distributed at the check out. The use of single-use plastic bags in grocery store produce and bulk departments is one of the exceptions to the law, so giving customers the choice for a reusable produce bag furthers the reduction of single-use plastic.

Joan Ecker, owner of F.H. Clothing Co. in Quechee

F.H. Clothing Company provides space for the cutting of the mesh bag material, and the bags are sewn at the home of one of Fat Hat’s part-time employees. Joan explains what inspired her to support the Mesh Bag Mamas project: “It’s always nice to participate in things that touch the community in some way. We’ve got to be concerned about the environment and continue to raise consciousness.” Joan foresees being able to continue to support the project around the company’s seasonal schedule, engaging other sewers as time goes along and demand for the bags increases.

Sara Ecker oversees the informal sustainability efforts for Fat Hat and notes several practices the company uses to try to reduce waste from purchasing goods to production, shipping garments to retailers, and store operations. “We try hard not to overbuy fabric or goods so we don’t have a lot of leftover yardage and garments, but this is also customer-driven. We donate clothing we don’t sell to Apparel Impact (a non-profit redistributing clothing to those in need) and to the Lyndonville Thrift Store during the recent floods because a lot of people lost their homes,” says Sara. “We also donate fabric, buttons, and other materials to area senior centers and afterschool programs.”

Fat Hat clothing is intentionally made to last, which is often not the case in the fashion industry. The company also uses recyclable bags for its shipping operations, and paper bags are used in the retail store. Jenn runs the retail store and even sources the ribbons used to wrap packages from a company that uses 100% compostable, water soluble material, non-toxic adhesives, and ink that is chlorine and acid free. You can leave the ribbon for the birds in your neighborhood or in the garden for safe nest building. Garment boxes are purchased from New England based company Packaging Specialties and are made of recycled material along with the bags, jewelry boxes, and small gift boxes. Both the ribbon company and Packaging Specialties offer carbon neutral shipping.

While many textile businesses and fashion designers come and go with the trends of the day, F.H. Clothing Company has stayed the course, developing a loyal customer following for its comfortable, sophisticated clothing lines, and its design mantra, “clothing that loves you just the way you are.” As a lifelong entrepreneur, Joan Ecker has perfected the art of continuous learning, decisiveness, curiosity, and willingness to experiment with new ideas.

From the first Fat Hats in New York to a thriving clothing business in Quechee, Joan describes the company’s evolution on her website. “After all these years, it strikes me that we’re not making and selling clothing at all…we’re selling our sense of humor, our independent Vermont lifestyle, and our comfortable attitude about dressing… clothing is just how we’ve packaged it!” F.H. Clothing Company is a great example of a business that can be successful, enduring, and make intentional choices to care for the planet.

For more information on the Mesh Bag Mama project, visit the Ten Towns Ten Actions website at 10towns.org.  

For as long she can remember, Alethea Bouton has always felt a strong connection to nature and wildlife conservation. She attributes this love and appreciation to her mother, Jennifer Bouton, who has always shared her own strong feelings to the intricacies of the nature around us. “Even things that seem very simplistic are actually very complicated, and there’s always something a little new to learn about behavior or how the different parts of ecology fit together,” Jennifer says. “It’s just beautiful and it’s interesting.” As Alethea and her mother were driving home one day, they passed the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), and Jennifer thought it would be the perfect place for Alethea to explore and deepen her interest in wildlife. On their first visit, they attended one of the VINS homeschooling programs, and they’ve been returning to VINS every year since Alethea was eight.

Alethea is currently enrolled in her first year at the Wildlife Science program at Paul Smith’s College, where she is studying fish and wildlife science. She has plans for a possible career path as a wildlife technician or conservation biologist. Alethea was able to explore these ambitions at VINS before attending college and honing in on her specific career interests. Alethea was most interested in the Baby Bird Feeder Program at VINS, after hearing a presentation about baby birds from a faculty member there. “He talked about the birds in a way that really made me feel like it was exciting,” Alethea says. “The excitement he had about how important they were inspired me.”

Alethea has been volunteering as a part of the Baby Bird Feeder Program at VINS every year since she was 12, and her mother Jennifer has joined her in volunteering over the years. On a weekly basis, their responsibilities include feeding different baby bird species every 15-30 minutes during a four hour period and administering solid foods with forceps, or liquid foods with a syringe for young birds or birds with a specific diet. VINS has given Alethea the opportunity to have hands-on experience with animals and information related to her future career, and has also provided her with leadership skills through her job as a camp counselor there in the summer.

Alethea and Jennifer also volunteer for a lights display that VINS hosts in the winter called “A Forest of Lights”, where they fill their landscape with light displays for visitors to walk through at night. There are towers, picture stations, and globes that the mother-daughter duo help manage, in addition to directing people through the displays, monitoring slippery areas, and helping with traffic control. Not only do these volunteer opportunities support VINS and their community, but they are also special moments shared between Jennifer and Alethea.

Alethea Bouton, holding a turtle

VINS hosts a summer program called “Nature Camp” for kindergarteners to eighth graders with different themes each week. Alethea began her journey as a Nature Camp instructor four years ago, and she plans to continue spending her summers there. Before becoming an instructor, VINS prepared Alethea with extensive training to accommodate all types of campers and possible situations. The training lasts about a week and includes first aid, CPR, basic safety training, what to bring on hikes, and preparation for extreme weather. They also prepare their instructors on how to handle interpersonal conflicts and misbehavior, help campers cope with their emotions, and how to re-engage campers with the group when they feel isolated. Alethea feels prepared every summer, she says: “[Our] approach [isn’t] just to corral the kids and make sure you don’t lose any, but also making sure that each camper is cared for and seen in a personal way. It’s confidence-inspiring to know all of this but to have also practiced it.” Alethea also applies the knowledge she’s acquired from her volunteer work at VINS to her work as a summer camp instructor. “I enjoy sharing what I know, not only the basic knowledge but also sharing fun facts about the stuff [they’re] learning about,” she says. This allows her to share her passion with youth and contribute positively to their summer camp experiences.

Growing up, Alethea has always been inspired by her mother’s connection and appreciation for nature as she’s always enjoyed being outside. “I’ve always just enjoyed being outside,” Jennifer reflects. “I’m a gardener. I don’t even care what I’m doing: It could be hiking, working in the compost pile, planting seeds, watching the bird feeder, it could be whatever.” Her mother’s love for nature, alongside the opportunity to volunteer and work at VINS, has led Alethea to define her own relationship with nature. “I feel closest to my faith when I’m outside and in nature,” Alethea says. “I feel a really important call to help to steward it and preserve it, because it’s something that’s really amazing and important to the whole planet.”

Registration is already sold out for the 33rd Covered Bridges Half Marathon (CBHM), happening on Sunday, June 1, 2025, but excitement continues to build as the summer nears on – and you can still get involved (continue reading to find out how and why you’ll want to!).

The 13.1 mile tri-town race, which begins at Saskadena Six Ski Area in South Pomfret and ends at the Quechee Polo Field, has donated over $2 million back to our local communities since 1992. And that’s really why it exists – to give back while having fun and enjoying the scenic routes that run through Pomfret, Woodstock, and Quechee.

Folks waiting to cheer on runners toward the fi nish line in front
of Strong House Spa in Quechee

“We really give 95% of our income out to the community,” says CBHM race co-director, Mike Silverman. Funds are raised through race registration fees, runner pledges, and donations, which are funneled back into the community as donations to support the volunteer organizations whom the event wouldn’t be possible without – a symbiotic arrangement which has kept the Covered Bridge Half Marathon thriving for several decades.

“I really love how our three race communities support this race,” says race co-director, Nancy Nutile-McMenemy. “Pomfret, Woodstock, and Quechee really host this race; Mike and I just organize it.”

This year, over 2,500 runners signed up for the CBHM, coming from all over New England, with a few from Canada and as far as the West Coast. Runners span all ages – the youngest this year is 13 and the oldest runner is 81 years old.

Now a race co-director alongside Nancy, Mike first became involved with the Covered Bridges Half Marathon 25 years ago as a volunteer raising money on behalf of Vermont Adaptive – a nationally recognized organization that promotes inclusivity and independence through adaptive sports programs and activities.

Some of the shared race director responsibilities include managing registration, coordinating with volunteers, vendors, and race sponsors, verifying the course and traffic control, maintaining a website and social media, and staking out at the Quechee Polo Field on the day of the race to make sure everything runs smoothly. A CBHM board of directors and race committee also band together to support different aspects of the event – from finances to the finish line.

Nancy Nutile-McMenemy started by maintaining the race’s website and social media presence in 2012. When Bill Blaiklock, the former CBHM race director, retired in 2018, Nancy took over as race co-director with Mike. “I take care of the race course,” Nancy says. “I get the road permits from our three host towns; I coordinate with the police, fire, and safety folks; I mark the course with my friend.” Nancy has worked together with Mike, who is also the race director for the Vermont 50, in coordinating the Vermont 50 and Vermont 100 Endurance Race for many years. Mike asked Nancy to join him in running the CBHM in 2012, and since then, “I haven’t looked back,” Nancy says.

In 2021, Nancy walked the 13.1 mile course with friends on the team “TuTu Much Fun” when the race was held virtually due to Covid-19. “Usually, we’re volunteering at the race, so the ‘virtual’ race was a great opportunity for us to check out the full course,” she says. “It took us four hours to cover the 13.1 miles: we walked, stopped and took photos, stopped for snacks in Woodstock, and basically took our time…I can tell you the last mile was brutal. We almost called it quits, but we pushed each other to keep moving.”

Nancy also takes care of booking the bands that are scattered across the course to motivate and entertain volunteers and runners alike during the CBHM. “We call them ‘Bands on the Run’,” she says.

Covered Bridges Half Marathon race co-directors, Nancy Nutile-
McMenemy (far left) and Mike Silverman (far right) on the race
course in Quechee during a “virtual” race in 2021

This year, runners will enjoy music by the Firehouse Six Dixieland Band playing at Marshland Farms (mile 12.8), who have been performing at all 33 Covered Bridge Half Marathon races over the years. Tuck’s Rock Dojo will perform at the finish line, where runners are met with warm welcome, food, drink, and a place to rest, recover, and celebrate. “Most of all, I’m looking forward to welcoming back our returning runners and welcoming our first-timers to the CBHM family,” Nancy says.

For Jo Allsopp and Ann DeLoach, co-presidents of the Friends of the Quechee Library, the Covered Bridges Half Marathon is an opportunity to represent and raise money for the library and have fun while doing it. “Our job is to fill the water cups and stand out in the street and hand [them] to the runners,” Jo explains.

Early in the morning before the marathon begins, race organizers drop off tables, cups and pitchers, close to 30 five-gallon water jugs, and Gatorade in bulk. Ann and Jo and other water station volunteers arrive around 8:30am and set up the tables, and they carefully pour water jugs into the pitchers, which are used to fill the water cups to hand to runners, who usually start passing through as early as 9:45am and finish by around 11:30am. There are six water stops throughout the race, plus the start and finish. Runners can also bring a water bottle or hydration vest.

“You always have to keep on your toes to keep the water going,” Ann says. “It’s fun…people are appreciative as they come through. It’s a sense of boosting them on.”

Jo and Ann are typically among a dozen or so volunteers manning the Mile 12 water table in front of the Quechee Library, which is the last stop for runners before the race ends at the polo field on Deweys Mills Road in Quechee. The Friends of the Quechee Library volunteer group is often joined by volunteers from various local school sports groups, or sometimes, “neighbors across [the street]” who walk over to lend a hand, Ann says. Some volunteers help with traffic control to protect runners from turning and oncoming vehicles.

“We’re always looking for other volunteers…the more the merrier,” Ann says. Volunteers also help pick up the cups after runners use them and throw them to the side as they continue on their way.

But the water stops serve as more than just a spot for runners to re-hydrate. They’re also important for morale-boosting and runner support. “That’s part of our job too…clapping and cheering them on,” Ann and Jo explain. “‘Only a mile left!’ is what we say,” Ann adds. “It’s really almost two miles…I always say ‘It’s all downhill from here!’,” Jo continues. The library water stop is also a music stop, where runners enjoy some live musical motivation. This year, the Upper Valley Music Center will be providing music at this location.

CBHM race co-director Nancy Nutile-McMenemy (left) and her
team “TuTu Much Fun” walked the 13.1 mile course when the
2021 race was held virtually

After passing the Quechee Public Library and continuing down Main Street in Quechee, runners pass by the Quechee Covered Bridge, where traffic tends to get tricky. The race organizers and traffic control volunteers instruct runners to stay left along most of Main Street, before switching to the right side of the road after passing “Heartbreak Hill”. This traffic pattern allows for vehicles coming from Bluff Rd., High St., Old Quechee Rd., and Marshland Farms to access Route 4 through the Quechee Covered Bridge.

“[Quechee] is a very congested area of the race,” race co-director Mike Silverman says. “Most years, everything runs smoothly. But when there is a difficulty at some point, there’s good communication to make the next year better.” For example, in past years, the race began after 10am, but organizers realized that starting earlier in the morning would help beat the early afternoon heat. But starting at 8:15am could cause a conflict with churchgoers in town on a Sunday morning. So, race organizers and local businesses and organizations have to work together to find a suitable plan.

“We’ve interrupted the community on the first weekend in June for a long time,” Mike says, reflecting on one of the biggest challenges of organizing a half marathon event like this. “In general, we do bring some economy to the local communities that we disrupt.” Runners and other race attendees often find lodging and food locally, and support other local businesses while they’re in town for the weekend, which helps account for the disruptions caused by the race itself.

As to volunteers, the race revolves around them. “Over the years, we have found ourselves setting up and tearing [things] down, and we’ve now established [volunteer groups],” Mike says. “Our volunteers at the water stations are actually groups that are paid to be there so they can raise money for whatever organization they are involved with. Most of them are youth organizations, it could be a library…multiple, local community groups…We can rely on them being there.”

The CBHM also has a mutually beneficial relationship with non-profit partners – The Family Place, David’s House, Positive Tracks, Upper Valley Haven, and WISE – who recruit runners that raise a minimum of $500 on behalf of their organizations. According to CBHM’s website, around $150,000 are collected in donations each year by these non-profit partners as a result of the race.

Covered Bridges Half Marathon volunteers

The Friends of the Quechee Library have been participating as volunteers with the marathon since around 1995, and Ann and Jo have been water table volunteers since about 2012. For them, volunteering at the race each year is a reliable way for them to raise money and contribute to a good local cause. The Covered Bridges Half Marathon is one of the major fundraisers for The Friends, and it directly benefits their efforts to make the library an even greater resource for the community. Some of the things The Friends contribute to are library programs for kids and adults, a NYT recipes subscription, and things outside of the library’s normal operational budget, like resealing the parking lot.

Volunteering at the water table during the Covered Bridges Half Marathon is “a Friends tradition,” Jo says. “We have many longtime volunteers…One Friend who volunteered said ‘I didn’t know what I’d been missing’.”

Volunteers who are interested in joining the Friends of the Quechee Library at the water table and to cheer on runners are welcome. A sign up sheet is available at the Quechee Public Library, or email info@quecheelibrary.org for more information.

The Friends of the Quechee Library are having their annual meeting on May 29, 2025 at 5pm at the Quechee Library. All are welcome to join and interested community members are encouraged to reach out to learn more about becoming a Friend.

Stamp collecting is a vocation often taught to school age children to learn about history and geography. The present writer was one such child who took extraordinary interest in the subject extending into adulthood.

Few people in Quechee may be aware that the community has a stamp club of its own, called the Upper Valley Stamp Club, which has been running since around 2000. This group of collectors meet at the Quechee Public Library on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 7-8pm. Most meetings include a speaker discussing a diverse subject for 30 minutes. Four times a year, the meetings include a member auction where stamps are bought and sold at very reasonable prices. The club also organizes a stamp show twice a year at the Mid-Vermont Christian School gymnasium in Quechee, where local stamp dealers can set up booths. Stamp and postcard dealers from New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and as far as Massachusetts offer worldwide or special stamp collections and other collector items (coins and postcards), and concessions are sold by local Boy Scouts (coffee, tea, hot dogs and hamburgers). This activity is great fun and also offers free stamps for kids.

Margaret Russo (left), president of the Upper Valley Stamp Club
based in Quechee, receiving her 25-year participation certificate
in the American Philatelic Society.

The president of our club is Margaret Russo. On her experience with the hobby, she says, “Stamp collecting was not my first choice of hobbies, but in 1996, I found myself in Keflavík, Iceland – I was there doing a stint in the Navy – and not being an outdoorsy person, and not a fan of snowy cold weather, stamp collecting was a great choice. After over 25 years of collecting, I don’t know why I didn’t start earlier. The history, art, nature, science, and even [outer] space [topics] that are covered in this hobby could interest anyone.”

The most famous U.S. stamp is called the “inverted jenny”. As a result of a printing error, one hundred of these airmail stamps were issued in 1918. Quite scarce and valuable, these stamps often reach one-half million dollars at public auction. This stamp has been so enamored by collectors that the U.S. Postal Service issued a facsimile of the design in 2013. Now every collector might have the pleasure of placing one of these most remarkable stamps in their collection.

Stamp collecting was more widespread during the 20th century, sometimes called the pastime of kings and presidents. King George the Fifth amassed an extraordinary collection of Great Britain and colonies, known today as the Royal Philatelic collection. It is considered the most complete collection known, missing only the 1p magenta British Guiana – the rarest and most expensive stamp in the world, valued at 10 million dollars today. In casual conversation, an aid of King George V once remarked about how some fool had overpaid at auction for a particular stamp, to which the King reportedly admitted, “Yes, I was that fool.” So, while the King was known to overpay for stamps, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was much the opposite. Given his movements were largely restricted to a wheel chair, stamp collection became a natural pastime for him. The president spent many hours maintaining a worldwide collection consisting mostly of stamps of average value. Mr. Roosevelt didn’t have to spend much on his collection because it grew as a result of donations by his many adoring fans.

Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt working on his
stamp collection.

The secretary of the Quechee-based stamp club is Joyce LaPoint, who came to the hobby in a unique way. She says, “Believe it or not, I did not get interested in stamps until Bugs Bunny & the Looney Tunes sets, which were issued around 1997. Then, there was John Wayne and others. Most people I have met in [stamp] clubs started collecting when they were young. And at first, I didn’t want to collect worldwide, as there were so many different countries. Now, however, I am amazed at how time flies when I start checking out my collections. I have also sold stamps on eBay for over 10 years – this was a way to make a little money to buy more stamps which I needed. I even take the newer (self-stick) postage off paper with an easy procedure using Pure Citrus Orange Air Freshener…I now have U.S. 1920s to present day [stamps], and yes, I buy each new mint U.S. stamp as they are issued.”

While Joyce has expanded her vocation through use of the internet, technology is not for everyone. Paul Cook is the treasurer of the Upper Valley Stamp Club and also a dealer of old picture postcards, as well as stamps. Paul shuns the latest technology, conducting business as he does using an old flip phone. Recently retired, Paul has built up professional contacts through the years and has become a terrific asset for the stamp club.

Paul Cook, Upper Valley Stamp Club treasurer, manning his dealer booth at a Crossroads Postcard and Stamp
show at the Mid-Vermont Christian School in Quechee.

The present writer has been a member of the club on and off for 15 years. My specialty is paper and paper mills of the 1800s. I’m a long-standing member of the APS (American Philatelic Society), U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, and the Collectors Club in New York City. I have authored several lengthy and significant articles on early American stamps and stationery and am also a member of the expert committee of the APS that issues certificates of authenticity. My recent exhibit, “History and Technology of the American Paper Industry in the 1800s”, garnered a gold medal at the 2023 national show in Chicago.

Inverted Jenny airmail issue of 1918 – the most famous U.S.
stamp.

Being a member of the Upper Valley Stamp Club affords its members hands-on knowledge of the hobby. Here, one can make new friends and chat with people who have similar interests. Anyone attending a stamp show will see a real slice of America: young and old, male and female, people of all races and creeds, rich and poor. As the stamp club’s president Margaret Russo says, “Stamp collecting really is for everyone.”

Upper Valley Stamp Club meetings are held at the Quechee Public Library, 1957 Quechee Main Street, on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 7-8pm. All are welcome to join. Some upcoming summer and fall events to look forward to include a club stamp auction on June 9 and September 8, and the next Crossroads Postcard & Stamp Show at the Mid-Vermont Christian School gymnasium on October 4. Visit the stamp club’s website for more information and to see a full list of upcoming programs for the remainder of 2025: uvstampclub.com.