“If you want to find me on Wednesdays, you can come to the hospital [Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center] between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. I’ll be there, playing piano,” says Quechee’s Bill Emerson. “When I retired I had two goals, to play golf and to play piano.”

Emerson learned to play the piano by ear. His first venture into playing music was in college with a ukulele. He then began to experiment with the piano, and was a quick study. “There was always a piano inside of the frat houses. And when I was in the Navy, there were two pianos on the ship.… Read More

In August 1995, Debbie Marcus and her husband Chet Marcus, both Massachusetts natives, were taking their two children to camp in Rutland, Vermont when they passed through Quechee.

“Wow, isn’t this beautiful?” the Marcus’s had said to each other as they took in the mountainous scenery and the stretches of golf courses—Chet is an avid golfer.

By November 1995, the Marcus’s decided to purchase a condo in Quechee. Since the two still own and run their business, Marcus Financial Advisors, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, they have been splitting their time between Quechee and Gloucester for 19 years. The Marcus’ son, Jonathan, will be taking over the family business so that the pair can retire to Vermont full time in a couple of years.… Read More

John Ferney will miss the challenges of the past several years as president of the Quechee Lakes Landowner’s Association (QLLA) Board of Trustees. His term ended in July 2014 and for the first time in many years, Ferney does not hold a formal position in QLLA governance.

Over the years, Ferney has been a member of the Nominating Committee, the Greens Committee, the Finance & Audit Committee and chairman of the Golf Committee. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2008, served as treasurer for two years, and another two years as president. Ferney spoke with the Quechee Times about his experiences.… Read More

Ranks of street shoes line the narrow entrance hall. Young people of various ages fit themselves into small spaces on the floor, engaged in stretches. Some girls lean on the wall, helping each other with hairpins. Costumes of shiny brocades adorned with fur trim, sequins, and ribbons weigh down tables along the edges of entrance and the smaller dance hall. The atmosphere is focused but not panicked. All over the Upper Valley, students were enjoying April vacation week. Lebanon Ballet School was delighted–more rehearsal time!

Students at the school were in the throes of preparing to participate in City Center Ballet’s spring show, Sleeping Beauty, a version of the classic ballet Maurice Petipa choreographed to Tchaikovsky’s music.… Read More

It’s a haven for over half the year in this climate, and a fascination any day: Dartmouth’s Life Sciences Greenhouses in their hidden—but not secret—location on the top of the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Building. The greenhouses may well be the most widely educational spot on campus: tour visitors range from pre-school groups—“They love the carnivorous plants,” says greenhouse manager Kim DeLong. Anyone can set up a tour for a group of six or more, though in the busy seasons you may have to wait to schedule a tour. The greenhouses serve Dartmouth classes in biology, but also studio art and photography, and creative writing.… Read More

When I first walked into the Vermont Spirits Distilling Co. production and retail shop in Quechee Gorge Village, Quechee Spirits’ employees Jeremy Herrell and Mimi Buttenheim greeted me with smiles and asked if I wanted to do a spirit tasting.

I paused for a moment and realized, while I had done plenty of beer and wine tastings in my life, I had never done a spirit tasting before. Apparently I’m not the only one.

“I think spirit tasting is new for a lot of people,” Buttenheim told me as I sampled a few of the distillery’s products, including the No. 14 Bourbon: a whiskey bourbon distilled with maple syrup that I was quite fond of.… Read More

In his essay on fly fishing titled The Happy Idiot author John Gierach notes, “There are times when fly fishing seems to be suffering from the same malady that afflicts the rest of society: too many so-called facts and not enough real experience.”

When the Quechee Times editor approached me about writing an article on my favorite places to fly fish in the area I thought, “What? This woman knows nothing about the culture of fly fishing. You never tell where you caught the fish!” Writing such an article would be much like writing a book concerning all of one’s mistresses and then giving it to one’s wife to proof read.… Read More

If life is a series of transitions, Myrna and Dick Brooks know that well. Their “transition” involved moving from urban Phoenix, Arizona, to moving to a house in the woods at the end of a dirt road in Quechee, where they now call home.

Deck Houses come to Quechee Lakes

In 2002, the Brooks bought a Deck House built in 1972, “the first house on Taft Family Road,” according to Myrna Brooks. The Deck House concept was a popular choice for early Quechee Lakes Landowners Association (QLLA) buyers. Art Garges, the owner of A.G. Design and the architect the Brooks eventually hired for their major renovation, explains that a Deck House representative and builder in the area helped advance this new concept in building to the earliest homes in QLLA.… Read More