In a groundbreaking collaboration this June, the White River Natural Resources Conservation District (WR-NRCD) convened conservation planners, NOFA-VT, and leading forest and agricultural experts for an immersive three-day professional development event at Plenitud VT’s new 101-acre educational farm in Newbury. The goal? To transform how farmers using holistic and organic practices navigate and access vital federal funding streams.

Attendees get their hands dirty, delving into soil health and
conservation with NRCD Soil Health Agronomist Willie
Gibson and Agroforestry expert and Dartmouth PhD candidate
Kristen Jovanelly.

Attendees included conservation planners from across Vermont’s NRCDs, NRCS and NOFA-VT staff, Plenitud VT team, and interns from UVM, all eager to explore innovative approaches. Experts in permaculture, forestry, and agroforestry shared their knowledge, contributing to a dynamic exchange of ideas. A key highlight was the piloting of WR-NRCD’s cutting-edge holistic farmer interview, designed to better understand and support the unique needs of farmers embracing natural and organic practices. This pioneering effort aims to inspire similar initiatives nationwide.

The Plenitud VT farm served as a living case study, fostering hands-on learning, farm tours, and lively discussions. Participants bonded over shared goals, exchanging insights on how to more efficiently and effectively direct funding to farmers dedicated to sustainable agriculture, and enjoyed farm-to-table meals together.

About Plenitud VT

Plenitud VT is the new Vermont chapter of Plenitud, a 501(c)(3) non-profit rooted in service, sustainability, and community which has been serving in Puerto Rico since 2008. Plenitud VT launched in July 2023 with the purchase of their 101-acre Newbury farm where they will host educational and transformative experiences for a range of audiences, and build on their legacy of community hubs, sustainable farming, and providing healthy food to those in need. They are currently getting to know the area and learning from partners already doing good work in Vermont and New Hampshire. Want to learn more or explore partnership? Email: jessica@plenitudpr.org

About The WRNRCD

The White River Natural Resources Conservation District champions the conservation of natural resources across the Upper Valley watershed. They empower landowners and communities through education, technical assistance, and partnerships, promoting sustainable practices that safeguard soil, water, and wildlife. For more information, email: WhiteRiverNRCD@gmail.com

About NOFA-VT

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) is a non-profit dedicated to a sustainable and equitable food system. They support farmers with resources and organic certification (through VOF), advocate for progressive agricultural policies, and increase access to healthy, local food for all Vermonters. Visit: nofavt.org.

After Fall Fest and on my way home, I drove past Quechee Gorge Village and was flagged down by some Hartford High School seniors waving pom-poms at the entrance advertising their bake sale.

As it turns out, the Village was bustling that day, with an outdoor antique market and a bake sale full of goodies. The Hartford High School Class of 2025 is fundraising money for their senior class trip in the spring: they’re choosing between Boston, Portland, or Lake George for a long day trip. The seniors are split into committees to price out and plan itineraries for each of the trip options, and the student council will vote on which trip they want to take. After the fact, I found out that the class raised just over $1,000 from the bake sale!

Hartford High School seniors Dakota Smith and Izabella Sirois.

If you’re interested in supporting Hartford’s senior class as they fundraise for their trip, consider sending a donation to Hartford High School Student Council Class of 2025: 37 Highland Ave White River Junction, VT 05001 (Memo: Senior Class Trip).

Editor’s Note: In my quest to get to know Quechee even better, I am setting a goal for myself to spend a day out and about in the community each quarter. Whether that’s attending an event, meeting some new friends, or just wandering around and seeing where the adventure leads! “Editor’s Day Out” will be a new ongoing segment in the Quechee Times that is my way of immersing myself in the Quechee community, sharing my experiences with you, and creating some memories along the way. And hopefully, you’ll get to know me a little bit better, too!

After a somewhat subpar foliage season last fall, the Vermont hills did not disappoint when October rolled around this year. Yellows, reds, oranges, and browns were in full force, and there was no better way to enjoy them than to hit the windy roads – warm enough still to have the windows down, and just cool enough for a cozy hat. So I took off for Quechee Club’s annual “Fall Fest” on October 12, and a joyful, sunny autumn afternoon of fun awaited me!

At Lake Pinneo, dozens of families gathered to enjoy games, food, music, wagon rides, crafts, and conversation. When I arrived, cheerful Quechee Club staff members and a clear jar of M&M’s greeted me, collecting guesses for a prize. The total number of M&M’s in the jar ended up being 866, and at the end of the day, the adult winner was Eileen Kirk with a guess of 882, and the child winner was Mary Malinn with a guess of 856.

Fall Fest brought in just over 450 people this year, and was filled to the brim with fun and smiles. I took a walk around and grabbed some photos of the fun in action!

“Food Vision” Prize Partners with Local Quechee Business and Supports Local Growers

Vital Communities, the non-profit organization working to cultivate the civic, environmental, and economic vitality of the Upper Valley and engage Upper Valley people, organizations, and communities to create equitable solutions to our region’s challenges, was recently awarded a $200,000 New England Food Vision Prize for a multi-partner project.

This prize will enable the development of a regional farm ingredient-sourcing supply channel that will help create broader markets for the region’s food growers, especially farmers from the BIPOC and immigrant communities.

The central partner in this project is our own Quechee-based Global Village Foods, an African-inspired prepared food producer. Global Village Foods will now have the means to produce meals at a large scale for institutions, starting with University of Vermont, with food grown in New Hampshire and Vermont.

“We’re super excited because we have always tried to source our ingredients locally,” said Mel Hall, owner of Global Village Foods with his wife, Damaris, “As we begin to rebound from the pandemic, this grant enables us to grow from a small regional specialty brand to having national potential and to carry those local growers with us and offer them a guaranteed revenue stream.”

“[GVF owners] Mel and Damaris Hall have produced thousands of nutritious meals for our community and have been expanding their commitment to source more Vermont farm ingredients for their meals. The Food Vision Prize will allow for that vision to become a reality, which will positively impact our producers, especially BIPOC growers,” said Nancy LaRowe, Vital Communities Director of Food & Farm and Economy.

The Food Vision prize allows Global Village Foods to purchase food processing equipment and hire additional employees to process raw farm products into cleaned, sorted, and cut ingredients like those produced by large-scale international food processors. This will enable Global Village Foods to buy from farms across New England and sell regionally and nationally.

This project will support the significant growth that Global Village Foods anticipates for their allergy-friendly, culturally relevant, ready-to-eat meals into institutional food service channels and beyond.

“We’re poised to become the next nationally known Vermont brand, like Ben and Jerry’s,” Hall said.

[Top photo by Wangene Hall.]

Actually, the Quechee Times’ first edition was published 150 years ago in 1872. However, the ‘modern-day’ version began in November 1972. Please indulge me as I tell this full-circle tale.

L. John Davidson was the founding visionary of the Quechee Lakes development. He was on a quest to find the perfect setting to create a four season resort community where families could live, work and play in the beauty that only Mother Nature can provide, while still having access and relative proximity to high-level cultural amenities and city centers. Quechee was just that spot.

While it sounds nice in the movies, it’s not a given that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Especially in the early 1970s, pre-internet era, reaching people to let them know about your creation involved print media (and/or radio and TV) and the US Mail.

Enter the Quechee Times. When John Davidson happened upon a tattered copy of the Quechee Times from 1872 in the basement of what is now the Parker House, it sparked an idea. Why not recreate an old-fashioned-looking local paper that published stories about all of the wonderful people, places and events happening in and around this special new community called Quechee Lakes? Without making a hard sell, the Quechee Times ‘sold’ Quechee organically by just exposing potential prospects to a lifestyle that could be theirs in this northern paradise.

So, in November of 1972, the Quechee Lakes Corporation published its first edition of this ingenious marketing piece that looked and functioned like a local newspaper. Fifty years later, this quarterly publication continues to publish the stories of all of the good people, good places and good things happening in and around this amazing community (Quechee and Quechee Lakes, combined).

The full-circle part is how I came to be the publisher.

At some point in the late 1970s, Ginnie and Tom Lane retired from their newspaper jobs and moved to Quechee to enjoy the active lifestyle they found here. They bought the Quechee Times from the corporation (Quechee Lakes) and would publish it as a retirement hobby. In less than a year of being here, Tom Lane suddenly died of a heart attack. They had been in the middle of putting the Holiday issue together.

With help from Dave Barrell (next section), the Holiday issue went out and the paper continued on its quarterly publishing cycle with Ginnie at the helm. When Ginnie turned 83, she realized that her hearing wasn’t what it used to be and was having trouble getting “the facts straight,” so she decided to put the paper on the market to sell. As my mother, Carol Dewey Davidson, was in real estate in Quechee, she heard through the grapevine that the Quechee Times was for sale. I had just had my first child and was having a hard time relinquishing her to day care all day when she was just 6-weeks old to accommodate my 9-5 job’s hours. Since I had produced newsletters and written for local papers, I felt qualified to see about buying this business so I could have the flexible schedule I needed to be able to care for my child and work at the same time. Ginnie was willing to finance the purchase price for me over time, and in November of 1995, I became the publisher of the Quechee Times!

What makes this a full-circle story is that John Davidson was my step-father. Who would have guessed that 23 years after he had the idea of launching a local paper as a marketing vehicle, his now former step-daughter would become its new publisher!

Since 1995, while raising my two daughters, now 27 and 23, I have been intentionally publishing good-news-only content that celebrates all that is good and inspiring in a community. With five publications now under the Greater Good Media name, I am proud to claim the Quechee Times as my foundational model and hope to spread good news in other communities across the country!

If you have stories to tell or believe that your community would benefit by having a Quechee Times-like publication celebrating its good news, please contact me at publisher@greatergoodmedia.net.

Thank you for your 50-year loyalty and continued support in keeping local print media alive and thriving!                                                   

~ Jen MacMillen

Memories

In 1976, I answered an advertisement for a secretarial position at the Quechee Lakes Corporation in Quechee, Vermont. The interview was with the vice president of sales and marketing in The Mill (now Simon Pearce’s restaurant and glassblowing business), which was corporate headquarters. Within a week, I was an employee.

Evidently I did not read the job description thoroughly. In addition to all the duties associated with working in sales and marketing of a rapidly growing business whose doors were open seven days a week, 365 days a year, I had acquired the editing duties of the corporate ‘newspaper,’ the Quechee Times. The paper was of particular interest to my boss as he had an affinity for writing, photography and news.

So, with camera, notebook, and pencil in hand, I began to explore Quechee. The paper was published monthly at the time, so I had the time to search out long-time residents for chats at the kitchen table, business-focused meetings, sales reports, spotlights on new employees, and photos of everything from the first shovel of dirt turned over for a new condominium site to skiers on the Quechee ski hill to scenic views of Quechee Gorge – all in black and white!

The Times was my introduction to the Quechee community; although a corporate marketing tool, for the Village and for me, it was an open door to the world at our doorsteps. And, in a small way, I hope those early editions of the Times helped to pave the way for community acceptance, understanding, and belief in the Quechee Lakes of today.                                      

 ~ Gayle Ottmann

Help Is On the Way

I recall stopping by the big red barn to visit with Charlie Jameson – “Did you hear that Tom Lane died?” he greeted me. “Wow, Ginnie will need help putting the Quechee Times together,” I replied. That was it. I contacted Ginnie shortly thereafter and offered my assistance, which she readily accepted. I had studied journalism at Michigan State University and was the night sports editor with experience in editing and putting together a publication. We got together at her home at the top of the ski hill, which served as the production facility. If one has never been part of putting out a publication, pre-computer, it requires a lot of cutting to fit stories into prescribed spaces and editing, often with scissors, and subsequently writing and pasting in a headline. Fun, but challenging and frustrating when things just don’t or won’t fit.

It all came together, and Ginnie became quite the publisher. I went back to my financial advisory business and occasionally wrote or helped out as needed.

What this vignette shows is what a small and caring community Quechee was 40 years ago. Regularly, I would sit and chat with Charlie, John Davidson and a few others, and we would know all the comings and goings in Quechee, good and bad. And of course, we had our opinions and were not bashful in expressing them. The Quechee Club was much more intimate and, nightly, an assemblage would be imbibing at the bar or at someone’s home. People, such as Bill Kelly, would pop-in whenever they pleased, sometimes already with a drink in hand from another party.

There were not many young families living in Quechee as compared to the present. The pool complex consisted of the indoor pool and a single outdoor pool. One day, Chris and Laura Barrett, along with my then-wife, Carole, and I were sitting by the pool with 2-year-old Molly Barrett and Justin Barrell. We observed that the pool was inadequate for young kids. Chris was treasurer of QLLA and I was head of the Tennis Committee, so we had some influence with the Board of Trustees. We proposed a new “kiddie pool” and the granddaughter of the president was visiting that weekend and had complained about the same issue. Within weeks, a new pool was dug at a cost of $13,000 and it lasted for many years until the great water complex was completed. It’s remarkable what a handful of dedicated individuals were able to accomplish 40 some years ago.

Quechee has evolved and John Davidson’s vision has been mostly fulfilled, and today we enjoy living in one of the most special 5,000 acres of beauty in the US.                                                                                 

 ~ Dave Barrell

Thank you for your 50-year loyalty and continued support in keeping local print media alive and thriving

As told to Jessie N. McEntee

My wife, Carol, and I met at a party before a football game at Cornell in 1962. I was a junior and she was a freshman. She came as the date of a friend of one of my fraternity brothers. I learned that she was engaged to a Swede who worked for her mother’s firm back in Rochester, New York. This piqued my interest. And, she was very pretty and feisty. 

“Could you hold my cigarettes? I don’t want to smoke anymore,” I said. I thought it was a great line, and she thought it was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. A couple of weeks later, she needed a ride back home to Rochester, and I had a ‘48 Chrysler. She heard about my car and called me for a ride, but she didn’t remember me from the party. When I pulled up to her dorm to pick her up, she was shocked.  

We started dating, and I knew she was engaged to this Swede because all of her friends in her sorority had ratted her out. She’d say things like, “I have a friend who’s engaged to someone, but she likes this other guy better.” Of course, I was the other guy. For Parents Weekend in 1963, I told my father that she was the girl I was going to marry. We’d just started dating, and I had a girlfriend back home. My father was a man of few words, but he approved of her. We got pinned, which is more than going steady and short of being engaged, and then I asked her to get married in the late spring of 1964 when I was about to graduate. To my great shock, she said yes. I didn’t sleep that night because I realized I had done a momentous thing.  

I graduated from Cornell on a Tuesday and was commissioned in the Navy the next day. We got married on Saturday, and I went to sea the following Monday on the USS De Soto County, LST 1171 out of Norfolk, Virginia. I went on a big operation over to the Mediterranean, where I was gone from September to November. I spent two and a half years in the Navy while Carol finished her degree in education and graduated from Old Dominion University. I then went to law school at the University of Michigan, from which I graduated in 1969, while Carol taught elementary school. Simultaneous with my graduation, our daughter, Laura, was born. 

On a side note, for those of you who remember S & H green stamps, we arrived in Ann Arbor with many books of them, which I insisted on using to obtain a delicatessen bologna slicer. Carol pointed out bemusedly that we wouldn’t necessarily need to be slicing fifteen pounds of bologna at a time. We nevertheless carted this monstrosity from Ann Arbor to Rochester to Cleveland and finally Dallas, where the bologna slicer met its demise.  

I started practicing with a law firm in Rochester, NY now called Nixon, Peabody. I spent most of my two and a half years representing Kodak company in a massive lawsuit against Fotomat Corp. I left and joined the Jones Day law firm in Cleveland, Ohio. Our only other child, Justin, was born in Cleveland. I litigated a variety of anti-trust cases and other commercial litigation. I became a partner at Jones Day in 1977, and in 1982, the firm asked me to head up litigation in our new Dallas office. During this period, I spent most of my time representing Texas Instruments in patent/anti-trust litigation against Japanese and Korean silicone chip manufacturers. I also did work for Frito Lay. You could say I was the defender of chips.  

Having been successful in Dallas, the management of my firm in their wisdom sent me in 1988 to head the litigation section of our newly-opened Chicago office, where, on a more local note, I represented Victor Kiam in his server-year unsuccessful attempts to retain ownership of the Patriots. Carol was doing the hard but wonderful job of raising our children. We sent Laura off to Dartmouth and later Justin to Cornell. Meantime, at the behest of Texas Instruments, the firm sent me back to Dallas in 1994. 

Laura married Erik Bierwagen, who she met at Dartmouth, in 1992. They moved to Los Angeles and later the Bay Area. Justin married Jessie Noyes in 2003. 

We began looking for some place to escape the heat of Dallas in the summer, and we considered various locations including Cape Cod, Hilton Head, and Quechee, which we learned about from Laura, whose sorority had held a function at the Quechee Club. Laura and Erik were pleased at the idea of being close to Dartmouth, which they’d both loved, and we were pleased with Quechee, since we both played golf enthusiastically albeit ineptly.  

 We first came to Quechee in 2006, and we rented for a month and then extended our stay for six weeks. On the way out for our return to Dallas, we bought a condo on Coach Road. All of our five grandchildren have actively participated in golf and tennis lessons and enjoyed the beach at Lake Pinneo, the pool, and the camp programs. Also, Justin and Jessie and their kids have had the opportunity to use the ski facilities in winter, as they’re based in Connecticut. Like many others, whenever our family arrives at Quechee, we draw a sigh of relief, and all tension fades away.

Before the proverbial rooster crows, the dedicated and hardworking staff at Sugarbush Farm in Quechee are already prepping, feeding, displaying, haying, organizing, tapping, waxing, smoking, shipping… in order to open the doors and warmly greet the 100-500 visitors they welcome each day. The daily tasks on this 550-acre hillside farm are strenuous, time consuming, and some may say tedious, but the consistent hard work and positive attitudes have kept the farm running since 1945! The 2nd and 3rd generation Luce family members, including matriarch Betsy and husband Larry, and their sons, Ralph and Jeff, are leading by example for the next generation to carry on this time-honored legacy and way-of-life..

It was a cool spring day in 1978, when a pickup truck drove up the drive to the Quechee Inn. Emblazoned on the truck’s doors was a hot air balloon with the words “Glens Falls, New York Balloon Festival. Short of stature but with a hearty voice and smile to match, he came into the Inn and introduced himself as “Ed Griskott, organizer and promoter of the Balloon Festival. Looking for a Mike Yaroschuk; want to talk hot air ballooning. And, as they say, the rest is history.

Mike Yaroschuck and his wife, Barbara (plus three children), had recently purchased the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm from the Quechee Lakes Corporation and were starting down the road to establish the Inn as the traveler destination of the Upper Valley. Mike had grown up in Charlestown, Massachusetts; however, after several years of working as a Washington, D. C. attorney, he and Barbara wanted out of the city life to raise their children and started researching small inns and bed and breakfasts throughout New England. The Quechee Inn was their final stop.

Not one to sit still, Mike and a small group of business owners in Quechee established the Quechee Chamber of Commerce in 1978. As a fledgling organization, they were looking for an event that would jump start the group. Ed Griskott’s visit started the ball rolling. Mike’s birthday was usually around the end of June near Bunker Hill Day (always celebrated in his Charlestown neighborhood) so the last weekend in June 1979 was chosen as the dates for the first Quechee Hot Air Balloon Festival.

As it is today, the event was held on the Quechee Green. There were six balloons that flew in the morning and early evening (passengers purchased rides from the balloonists) several local restaurants served their signature food dishes; one or two musicians played in the old bandstand. There was only one entrance near an empty building that is now apartments and offices. There was no post office on site and parking was behind the present Red Barn Condominiums.

The Chamber actually lost money at the first Festival, but the sight of those six balloons and the excitement created by the event convinced the Chamber that it was just what the area needed. It did take a few more years before the event came into its own and cleared a profit.

Along the way, there were several changes – although everyone delighted in celebrating Mike’s birthday at the Festival, the Festival committee concluded the date was too close to the Fourth of July so moved it back to Father’s Day weekend which is when it is still held today. In those early days, the balloonists stayed either with Quechee friends or at the Quechee Gorge Motel (now the Quality Inn) with Jon and Nancy Bacon as host and hostess. To create a stronger relationship with the business community and the balloonists, a business could sponsor a balloon and its crew for the weekend. The sponsorship included a ride for the sponsor; a pre-Festival barbeque at the motel with your balloonist and crew; a sign on the balloon basket promoting the sponsor. Many long-time friendships were created with this promotion.  With increased interest in the balloon rides, the Festival committee elected to start selling the rides over the telephone. Technology has certainly changed that scenario!!

Mike was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 1984. He attended as many Chamber meetings as possible and stayed involved with the Festival until his death in March 1985. In recognition of his belief in the Chamber, the village, its residents, his family and friends, the Chamber of Commerce rebuilt the bandstand on the Village Green and, during a Balloon Festival, dedicated it to Mike by placing a brass plaque on the structure where it can be seen today.

The Festival has featured shape balloons – Smoky the Bear (who had to go to the Hot Air Balloon Hospital in Post Mills to have repair work done after swiping a tree branch), several visits from the Purple People Eater Dragon, the gigantic American Flag (so big it could not leave the Green), the Red Barn with Animals.

And who can forget the man in the chair who inflated hundreds of helium balloons and, literally, floated above the Green for some time! There have been helicopter rides from the Green, a French and Indian War Reenactment, several People’s Choice car shows. Many will remember the high water event that required all the Rvs to be moved to higher ground; the storm that blew down vendors’ tents or the bride, groom, minister and wife who, after the ceremony across the street from the Green, arrived for a balloon ride. In true fashion, the bride threw her bouquet into the onlooking crowd as they lifted off!!!

There is another piece to these 40 years that is difficult to document – the economic impact to the entire Upper Valley and beyond. The proof lies in the thousands, from near and far, who fill the highways and byways on their way to the Festival year after year.

The event started as a reason for a birthday celebration and the celebrations continues today. Over the last 40 years, Father’s Days, graduations, birthdays, reunions, golf matches, barbeques, wedding engagements and other life milestones have been celebrated on Balloon Festival weekends. Certainly a Quechee legacy!

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. We are together as a family more in Quechee than at home.”
 

Mike

If you had your own talk show, who would be your first three guests?

Bill Belichick, Eric Clapton, and Bill Gates

What’s your favorite meal in Quechee?

The Cuban Sandwich on The Quechee Club Deck.

Favorite quote?

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon

What book do you think everyone should read?

I’ll tell you after I read it.

What superhero would you be?

Superman

What’s your favorite song?

Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix

Favorite character in a movie?

The man with no name

Favorite activity to do in Quechee with your family?

Golf

What word best describes you?

Reasonable

What’s the best-kept secret in Quechee?

Murphy’s Farm

Susan

If you had your own talk show, who would be your first three guests?

Michelle and Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey

What’s your favorite meal in Quechee?

Not technically in Quechee, but anything they’re serving at Cloudland Farm in Pomfret.

What superhero would you be?

Superwoman (not sure she exists)

What’s your favorite song?

Good Life by OneRepublic, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong… you get the idea.

Favorite activity to do in Quechee with your family?

Kayaking on the White River

What word best describes you?

Busy

What’s the best-kept secret in Quechee?

Murphy’s Tavern

Michael

If you had your own talk show, who would be your first three guests?

Tom Brady, Henrik Harlaut (pro freestyle skier), and Travis Rice (pro snowboarder)

What superhero would you be?

Skier Man

What’s your favorite song?

Peso by A$AP Rocky

Favorite character in a movie?

James Bond

Favorite activity to do in Quechee with your family?

The rope swing

What word best describes you?

Adventurous

What’s the best-kept secret in Quechee?

The area around our condo makes nice spots to build ski jumps on in the winter.

Robert

If you had your own talk show, who would be your first three guests?

Barack Obama, Quentin Tarantino, and Young Thug

What’s your favorite meal in Quechee?

While technically not in Quechee, my favorite meal in the area is definitely ‘the Cubano’ with truffle fries at the Worthy Kitchen. In Quechee, it would be the lobster mac-and-cheese at Murphy’s Tavern

Favorite quote?

“Carpe Diem.” Horace

What book do you think everyone should read?

Pulp by Charles Bukowski

What superhero would you be?

Batman

What’s your favorite song?

Current favorite song: The Season by Anderson Paak

Favorite character in a movie?

Django from Django Unchained

Favorite activity to do in Quechee with your family?

Skiing

What word best describes you?

Creative

What’s the best-kept secret in Quechee?

You can jump off of the covered bridge by Simon Pearce!

Daniel

If you had your own talk show, who would be your first three guests?

Tom Brady, Paul Rabil, and Robert DeLaus

What’s your favorite meal in Quechee?

Worthy Bomb at Worthy Kitchen

Favorite quote?

ELE – Everybody Love Everybody Jackie Moon

What book do you think everyone should read?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

What superhero would you be?

Ironman

What’s your favorite song?

Ice Melts by Drake and Young Thug

Favorite character in a movie?

Monix from Semi-Pro

Favorite activity to do in Quechee with your family?

Golfing

What word best describes you?

Wild

What’s the best-kept secret in Quechee?

Fishing the backside of Lake Pinneo.

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. (Puzzle sizes generally ranged from 100 to 1,000 pieces.) Next, they set up tables in the living room and invited everyone to join in the fun! What they found was that not only were residents working on the puzzles, but their children, grandchildren, visitors, and even staff members were getting involved. People passing through the living room would pull up a chair and sit down to help. As the club evolved, conversations started around the tables and new friendships blossomed. “Some unwitting visitors found themselves ‘stuck’ in the living room, unwilling (and unable) to leave until they could fit their puzzle piece in the right spot. It is very addicting.” says Briana.

Since it got its start, the club has put together over thirty puzzles. When a puzzle is completed and missing parts are crafted, it is glued together, framed, and hung on the wall. That’s when “too much of a good thing” turned into a not-so-good thing. Complaints started that there were too many holes in the walls and simply too many puzzles about, so residents staged their first “Puzzle Art Show” in early November to show off their work. Now that the show is over, there is some talk of auctioning off the art with the proceeds going toward the purchase of… you guessed it… more puzzles!

Over the years, they have seen all types of puzzles from cute animal pictures to landscapes to fine art pieces. They even had a Stave puzzle, handcrafted in Norwich, Vermont, that was kept in a separate room. “Puzzles have been a great way to help with cognitive processing skills for many of our memory impaired residents” said Briana, “not to mention sharpening fine motor skills.” Next year the Terrace is considering a “3-D” puzzle challenge for residents (and friends.) Stop by sometime and join the fun and make a friend or two while you’re at it.