When Tim Rapczynski moved to Barre City, he was caught off guard by a nickname he heard some people use to describe the place: “Scary Barre.” So he asked us about its origin. To find the answer, we confront classism, social stigma — and the role of the media.

Thanks to Tim Rapczynski for the great question. You can find photos from our reporting, as well as a full episode transcript, in the web version of this episode. Amanda Gustin, the Barre City resident who left the voicemail at the top of this episode, was also in another episode of ours recently, talking about the history of intentional living communities in Vermont.

Special thanks to Ashleigh Ricciarelli, John Ricciarelli, Marianne Kotch, Jim and Larissa Haas, Fran Spaulding, Bob Purvis, Hilary Denton, Ellen Kaye, Scott McLaughlin, Jeannie McLeod, Lila Rees, Tracie Lewis, Braedon Vail, Bern Rose, Peter Hirschfeld, Liam Elder-Connors and the Aldridge Library.

Our show gets lots of help from colleagues behind the scenes, so we also want to shout-out Anna Ste. Marie for helping BLS shine on social media.

This episode was reported by Mary Engisch and Angela Evancie. Production, mix and sound design by Angela Evancie. Editing and additional production from the rest of the Brave Little State team: Josh Crane, Myra Flynn and Mae Nagusky. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.