The Magic of Renovating a 100-Year-Old Barn

What is it about an old barn that is so enticing? Is it the beauty of its unrefined, naturally battered old walls and rusting roof? Is it the way it takes our mind back in time to a more primitive, simple era when life was more provincial?

There is something magical about an old barn, whether it is a working barn (storing hay, farm equipment or housing animals), an abandoned barn or one like my own, a barn reincarnated as a home.

While walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain a few years ago, I had an epiphany.… Read More

When asked out of context, Dave Courtney doesn’t recall the exact year he started working at the Quechee Ski Hill, but he does know that he recently retired in 2018. However, I’m not meeting with Dave to talk about his long, Quechee-based ski career. Dave and I are meeting to talk specifically about an exciting offshoot of his many years on the hill. Dave’s son, Will Courtney, who skied the Quechee Hill with his dad since he was three years old, was hired this year to be a member of the US Alpine Ski Racing Team as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach.… Read More

The modern roads and bridges that crisscross the Quechee/Hartford/Woodstock area allow visitors and residents easy access to almost anywhere they wish to go. Want to go to dinner in Woodstock? Maybe attend the Quechee Balloon Festival? Or get to Northern Stage in WRJ for a performance? If you allow a bit of time to find a parking spot, or compensate for possible inclement weather, the actual travel is usually fairly easy and pleasant. Of course, being so familiar with quick travel, minor inconveniences get us frustrated.

Imagine the frustration, then, that might have occurred with those making trips throughout the area 100 or more years ago.… Read More

Agriculture and farming has a long tradition in the Upper Valley and throughout Vermont. Until tourism became an economic engine for the area and the state, farming was the major industry. Even in places such as Hartford, Quechee, and Woodstock – where mills, transportation, and trains drove the economy – farming played a critical role in the lives and survival of early Vermonters. Orchards, grain fields, and livestock once covered the terrain and still play a major role in the lives of the residents and visitors to the Green Mountain State.

In his book The Natural and Political History of the State of Vermont, founding father of Vermont, Ira Allen, accurately describes the state’s people, and farmers, and their ingenuity in the following manner: “I am really at a loss in the classification of the inhabitants – they are all farmers, and again every farmer is a mechanic in some line or another, as inclination leads or necessity requires.… Read More

VINS New Canopy Walk Designed to Delight

Vermont Institute of Natural Science is expanding – upwards! Over the past few years, the local environmental education center has undertaken a project to design and construct a 900-foot-long canopy walk, and the project is expected to be ready for its grand opening in October.

Those who know VINS are no stranger to the flora and fauna at the center’s 47-acre campus, and may have even experienced them up close along the nature trails. Soon, though, visitors will be able to experience the forest from a new perspective: one that’s fifty feet or more above the ground.… Read More

Bringing a Hometown Feel to the Big City

New York City, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Despite that Molly Shimko, director and co-writer of The Fling LP the musical has made it by city standards, she’s still a small town girl at heart and credits her childhood in Quechee as the source for her success and creativity.

“The people and places I love are idyllic,” says Shimko over the phone, taking a quick break to interview from working on a show at The Juilliard School where she works as a wardrobe supervisor. Her hometown of Quechee is what she says inspires her in the arts.… Read More

Should you decide to spend your next international vacation ‘giving back’ or helping others, it will change not only someone else’s life, but also YOUR life.

My personal journey into international volunteerism started 10 years ago as a ‘Trip of a Lifetime.’ I celebrated my friend’s 50th birthday by joining her on an adventure with Habitat for Humanity to build a house for a deserving family in Botswana, Africa. After that trip to Botswana, I quickly became ‘Hooked on Habitat’ and, yes, I believe I am now addicted to this type of vacation.

On the surface it looks like an international volunteer is making a grand gesture of selflessness – giving up valuable time and hard-earned money to help others.… Read More

Prior to my excursion with Braeburn Siberians of Windsor, the only dog-sledding experience I had was when my brothers and I would hitch up our Collie to a plastic sled and attempt to entice him to ‘mush’ down the driveway. This ‘mushing’ would only occur if one of us ran in front of the dog with half a bologna sandwich. If the dog caught you, the sandwich was quickly gone and the ride was over. We always used our younger brother as a pseudo ‘lead dog’ since he was very fast and often wouldn’t be caught for a whole minute. When my wife, Kim, informed me that she had booked a two-hour sled trip for the family I thought, “I’m not really in that kind of shape anymore.”… Read More

…and the Way It Still Is for Some

There is a romantic feel for many today when talk turns to how farming once was. That feeling is accentuated by visiting places such as Billings Farm in Woodstock, where visitors learn about farms and farming techniques from years back. One aspect of New England farm lore of particular interest to many is the art of maple sugaring.

Today, most often in the early spring, Upper Valley residents and visitors have the opportunity to visit working maple sugaring operations and see how maple syrup and candy is made today. Many are also intrigued by the old fashioned methods of tapping trees and making syrup.… Read More

In 1972, Jeffrey Kahn moved from Pennsylvania to Vermont with 30 friends and formed a commune in Sharon. After leaving and moving to Woodstock, he tried carpentry and an herbal toothpaste business, but nothing felt right until he had the idea to open what is now one of the best-known stores in Woodstock. Unicorn, located on Main Street, opened in December 1978 and has been splendidly eclectic from the start. This year, Unicorn is celebrating its 40-year anniversary, and Jeffrey is thrilled.

Jeffrey had one main focus when he opened the store: everything from the “sublime to the ridiculous” must be included.… Read More