Spencer Potter created Woodchuck Golf in his backyard in Waitsfield in 2004. The six-hole course, which runs on donations, attracts golfers from near and far looking for an offbeat and challenging experience.

Happy Vermont podcast host Erica Houskeeper met up with Spencer to find out what motivates him about running a public backyard golf course in Vermont's Mad River Valley.

www.woodchuckgolf.com

happyvermont.com

Most of Vermont's forests and hillsides were clear-cut in the late 1800s. But in a few places, like Gifford Woods State Park in Killington, old trees were spared and continue to stand tall today.

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Learn more about Gifford Woods State Park: vtstateparks.com/gifford

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A question host Erica Houskeeper often asks people is, how did you end up in Vermont? 

As she gets older, Erica thinks more and more about how she ended up in the Green Mountains more than 40 years ago. In this solo episode, she shares some personal memories of her family's early days in southern Vermont (a bittersweet, challenging time), and answers a few lighthearted questions from Happy Vermont readers and listeners. 

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After moving to Vershire in 2020, Justin Willeau was eager to find ways to meet people in town and contribute to the community. 

Vershire, a hard-to-get-to place in Orange County, doesn't have a coffee house or a bar. So Justin decided to create weekly get-togethers revolving around coffee and beer.

Justin started a Coffee Bar on Saturday mornings and a Beer Exchange on Thursday nights at the Church Orr House on Route 113.

In this episode, host Erica Houskeeper talks to Justin about serving in the Navy, getting involved in the community, and finding a place like Vershire to call home.

VerShare and the Church Orr House

Happy Vermont

Butternut Mountain is the tallest peak that falls entirely within the town of Johnson. On the mountain's southern slope, the Marvin family owns 600 acres where they produce maple syrup for their business, Butternut Mountain Farm.

David Marvin started Butternut Mountain Farm in the early 1970s on land owned by his father, Dr. James Wallace Marvin, a botanist and the co-founder of UVM's Proctor Maple Research Center. 

In this podcast episode of Happy Vermont, Butternut Mountain Farm's David Marvin and his children, Emma and Ira, talk with host Erica Houskeeper about the history of maple sugaring, how Butternut Mountain Farm came to be, and their hopes for the future.

https://happyvermont.com/2023/03/23/butternut-mountain-farm-maple-syrup-podcast/

https://butternutmountainfarm.com

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Tony Clark found his way to Vermont in the late 1960s. He bought an old farm in the middle of nowhere in Goshen and eventually turned it into an inn and cross-country ski center. One of his greatest legacies was helping to establish Vermont's 16,000-acre Moosalamoo National Recreation Area in 2007.

Tony died a year ago in March 2022. Host Erica Houskeeper met with his daughter, Britta, who grew up at the inn and is now working on her Ph.D. at Harvard. She is also helping to run the property’s Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center.

The center offers about 35 kilometers of trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, mountain biking, and trail running. There are no fees as the center is run with help from volunteers and donations to keep the trails accessible to the public.

https://happyvermont.com/2023/03/11/blueberry-hill-trails-goshen-podcast/

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Johnathan Croft, who leads the mapping section at the Agency of Transportation, loves everything about Vermont roads. Johnathan met with host Erica Houskeeper to talk about the history of the McCullough Turnpike and the App Gap, as well as Vermont's toll roads, turnpikes, shunpikes, and the dirt roads of East Barnard.

Read more: https://happyvermont.com/2023/02/16/podcast-mccullough-turnpike-app-gap/

Stratton Mountain may not be Vermont’s oldest ski area, but its history is iconic. Tucked away at the resort is a collection of Stratton Mountain signs, photos, and posters that tell the story of this Southern Vermont ski area that opened in 1961.

Over the past 54 years, Kimet Hand has collected everything from a bronzed tennis ball served by Ivan Lendl at Stratton’s Volvo International Tennis Tournament to signs made by ski school director Henrich, who was also an artist and a musician who played in the Stratton Mountain Boys.

In this episode, Erica Houskeeper interviews Stratton volunteer archivist Kimet Hand, Stratton sign maker Mike Smith, and his colleague, Lauren Suriani. 

Read the story here: HappyVermont.com

If you spend enough time in any Vermont town, you'll likely come across Vermont place names like Maple Corner in Calais, Snowsville in Braintree, and Hortonville in Mount Holly. These places are not official villages but rather unincorporated areas that are deeply rooted in the fabric of these communities.

Jackson Evans, president of the Braintree Historical Society, has lived in Braintree for over a decade.

“Place names are a real part of the history of any town,” Evans says. “So, when you're able to talk about those places or remember events that happened or people who lived in those places, it's a way to connect yourself.”

Evans is a historian who also loves exploring Vermont Class 4 dirt roads on his bike. He talks about his love for the town of Braintree, its places, and history.

Learn more on Happy Vermont:

https://happyvermont.com/2022/11/18/vermont-place-names-podcast/

The Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA), founded by the late Leon W. Dean in 1958, is a volunteer organization that restores and preserves public and private cemeteries that are neglected, abandoned, or in need of repair.

His granddaughter, Dianne Leary of Charlotte, is vice president of VOCA. She talks about her grandfather's legacy and what volunteering in cemeteries means to her.

https://happyvermont.com

https://voca58.org