Happy Vermont

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.  

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

In this episode, Sue shares stories about Snowflake Bentley and his lasting impact on the world.

Jericho Historical Society 

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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. 

Susan Leader is a well-known potter based in Andover, where she grew up at the base of Terrible Mountain. 

In 1950, Susan's parents moved to Andover and settled at Popplewood Farm, where she spent her childhood. 

Today, she lives on a piece of land her parents left her just up the road from her childhood home. 

In this episode, we talk about Terrible Mountain, Susan's unconventional upbringing, and how she has found community in the small town of Andover.

Steve Farrow grew up in Holland, Vermont and now lives in Newport in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

Steve studied at UVM in the 1980s and his master’s thesis focused on Vermont place names. He now teacher geography at Community College of Vermont.

In this Happy Vermont podcast episode, Steve and host Erica Houskeeper talk about Vermont place names and lost names like Elysiana, Hurricane and Jefferson County. They also explore Vermont gores and grants, as well as town names like Eden, Troy and Athens.

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