Stratton: Forests, a Fire Tower, and How the Town Nearly Disappeared

Margaret Loftus is a former public defender.  She’s now a farmer. She and her husband Jonathan left Brooklyn for Vermont in 2006 in search of a better place to raise their kids—Keelan, Tobin and Wendell—and grow their own food. After years of learning about farming, growing organic vegetables, and raising animals for beef, pork and lamb, the family-run Crossmolina Farm—named after a town in Ireland—became a full-time enterprise in 2018. In this episode, Margaret talks about creating a new life in Vermont, learning how to farm, and creating a tight-knit community around food.    Read about Crossmolina Farm in Daybreak  Find events, stories and more podcast episodes on HappyVermont.com Help support this podcast on Patreon and get free swag.   

Host Erica Houskeeper talks with attorney Spencer Crispe of West Brattleboro and forester Norm Arseneault of Granville about why Vermont ancient roads still matter. Subscribe to my newsletter Support Happy Vermont on Patreon  Visit HappyVermont.com Get in touch: [email protected]

Chris Wilcox is vice president of Wilcox Ice Cream in Sunderland. Chris was my first friend when my family moved to Vermont in 1979.  Not only were we friends, we were neighbors, too. I would zig zag my way through a couple of fields and cross a dirt to get to her house. The farm you see just south of Equinox Valley nursery on Route 7A, where Chris spent her childhood. But 24 years ago, on May 7, 2001, a fire tore through the farm on Route 7A, destroying multiple buildings, including one that housed the ice cream business. The farm you see now on Route 7A is no longer part of Wilcox Ice Cream. It hasn’t been for years. For the past decade, they’ve been making ice cream out of their facility in Sunderland.  In this episode, Chris talks about ice cream, hard work, perseverance, love and loss.   https://www.wilcox-ice-cream.com https://happyvermont.com  

Hotels used to stand at the top of some of Vermont's mountains, like Mount Mansfield, Camel's Hump, Snake Mountain and Mount Equinox.  Mary Skelton spent eight childhood summers at the Mount Mansfield Summit Hotel. It was a hotel her dad managed, and he served as the hotel's postmaster.  In this episode, Mary talks about the old hotel on Vermont's highest mountain, her joyful memories, and the end of an era.

Vermont has no shortage of offbeat place names. What is special about place names is that they come with a story, either a true story or one that's a mix of myth, folklore and fact.  In this episode, host Erica Houskeeper shares some of Vermont's interesting place names.  Support Happy Vermont on Patreon  Visit HappyVermont.com

The town of Stratton is best known for the popular ski area, Stratton Mountain Resort. But beyond the 3,000-acre ski area, the town has 30,000 acres and about 300 full-time residents. At one time in the 1930s, the population was so small that there were fears the town would go the same way as the unincorporated communities of Glastenbury and Somerset.  Town Clerk Kent Young talks about Stratton's tiny population, the fire tower on top of Stratton Mountain, the lack of post offices in town, and an old tragic tale from Kelley Stand Road. Support Happy Vermont on Patreon  Visit HappyVermont.com Subscribe to Happy Vermont's newsletter 

Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond is tiny but mighty.  The ski area was started in the early 1960s by Mickey and Ginny Cochran.  Their children, Bob, Barbara Ann, Marilyn and Lindy, came to be known as the “The Skiing Cochrans.” They represented the U.S. in the Winter Olympics, with Barbara Ann winning the gold in 1972. In this episode, Barbara Ann talks about the ski area's early days, her racing career and what makes Cochran’s an extraordinary place.  Learn more about Cochran's Ski Area https://cochranskiarea.com Find more Vermont stories and event listings at HappyVermont.com https://happyvermont.com Help support Happy Vermont on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/c/happyvermontpodcast  

You can learn a lot about a town and its history by visiting the local library. The Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport has a taxidermy collection that includes an alligator, bob cat, porcupine and birds. The Rutland Free Library originally served as a post office and courthouse. There are also jail cells in the basement. In this episode, Jessamyn West, a library technologist from Randolph, talks about what makes Vermont libraries fascinating places. She also shares what's she's learned on her quest to visit all of Vermont’s libraries.  happyvermont.com patreon.com/c/happyvermontpodcast

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley was the first person to ever photograph a single snowflake.  On January 15, 1885—at age 19—he used photographic plates to capture his first snowflake image at his family's farm in Jericho. His images of snowflakes are on permanent display at the historical society in the Old Red Mill in Jericho.   "He had the mind of a scientist and the soul of a poet," says Sue Richardson, Bentley's great-grand-niece, who manages the exhibit and gift shop at the Jericho Historical Society. "His dream was to share his images with the world," she says. In this episode, Sue shares stories about Snowflake Bentley and his lasting impact on the world. Jericho Historical Society  Subscribe to Happy Vermont  Happy Vermont Help support Happy Vermont on Patreon 

Host Erica Houskeeper talks about her brother, Matt, who died while kayaking in Southern Vermont last summer. It happened in a region of the state that Matt loved exploring. In honor of Matt, Erica highlights a bit of history and geography in this part of Vermont.