Happy Vermont

At Fern River Farm in Chelsea, Christine McCue raises dairy cows and sheep. On her hillside farm that she runs with her partner Pat, Christine makes cheese and butter. It's a life she never really expected.

Christine grew up in the suburbs and developed a love of animals early on. She earned a graduate degree in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont, and spent several years working in conservation for the federal government.

Christine shares how her love for animals led her to farming and deepened her connection to the land.

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George van Vlaanderen and Kristan Doolan made a decision three decades ago that would completely change their lives: they started a farm.

The couple settled on a piece of land in Bakersfield with no driveway, no power, water or buildings. They lived in a yurt for four and a half years on the property. George and Kristan started their operation with four goats and learned as they went, all while starting a family.

Today, Does’ Leap Farm is a working dairy producing organic goat cheese. 

In the woods behind the von Trapp Family Lodge is a tiny stone chapel.

The chapel was built more than 75 years ago by Werner von Trapp. He was the second son of Capt. Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead.

In the movie The Sound of Music, Werner is depicted by the character named Kurt.

Bob Stafford is a history buff and is the activities director at the von Trapp Family Lodge and resort.

Bob grew up in Stowe and first started working for the resort in 1994. In this episode of Happy Vermont, Bob talks about the von Trapp's escape from Austria, why the family came to Vermont, and Werner’s decision to build the stone chapel.

www.vontrappresort.com

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On Main Street in the southern Vermont town of Jamaica, there’s an old inn that’s been part of the village for more than 200 years. Painted yellow with purple shutters, the Jamaica Haus is run by Benzi Ross, who returned to Vermont after many years out west.

Her sister, Tini Hamilton, operates a bakery at the Jamaica Haus called The Skinny Goose. The sisters grew up at Stratton Mountain Resort, where their parents, Emo and Ann Henrich, were beloved in the Stratton community and beyond.

Old photographs, artwork and furniture from the early years of Stratton fill the Jamaica Haus. The sisters are embracing their parents legacy while also finding their own way to bring people together in the place they call home.

www.jamaicahaus.com

instagram.com/skinnygoosebakery

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Learn more about Kiss the Cow Farm at kissthecowfarm.com

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vermontdairy.com

Sheena Brown is a fourth-generation dairy farmer at Skyline Holsteins in Derby. Her great-grandfather bought this farm 81 years ago. As a child, she spent her days bottle-feeding lambs, walking a pet pig down the road, and following her father through the barn, convinced this was exactly where she belonged.

Then, when she was in middle school, the family sold the dairy herd. The barn went quiet, and it seemed like her dream of farming here might disappear.

Fortunately, it didn't.

In 2015, Sheena reopened the family dairy. Today, she and her partner, Ben, are raising three young boys on the same farm where she grew up.

Now they're taking on perhaps their biggest challenge yet: transitioning from conventional dairy farming to organic in hopes of creating a more sustainable future for the farm, and for the next generation.

This episode was made possible with funding from Vermont Dairy Farmers.

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The Seven Stars Arts Center is one of those rare places that blends history, community, reinvention, and a touch of quirkiness.

What began as a Baptist church later became a grange hall, then a garage, and eventually a healing arts center. Now the building is an education and performing arts venue run by volunteers.

Located a few doors from the Sharon Post Office on Route 14, the building still resembles an old church. But the steeple and an exterior clock from its earlier days are long gone. Today, the top of the building is flat, and musical notes are etched in a framed circle once told you the time.

The center gets its name from a 1990s creation. On the yellow front doors are two stained-glass windows hand-painted with seven stars.

Yet, despite its whimsical exterior, the inside the building is where the magic happens.

“There’s a great extended community that like to come to Seven Stars. They love the hall, and they love the music,” says Anne Mapplebeck of Sharon, a visual artist who volunteers regularly at Seven Stars with her husband, Michael Barsanti.