ncl magazine

Matt CourtrightThe man behind the Ti Chamber

Fact or Fiction?Did Frank T. Hopkins really ride with Buffalo Bill Cody?

Wildfl owersCaught on Camera!

Vol.2 No.2

Waterfallsof the

North Country

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Email us at [email protected]

Dear Readers,It’s a pleasure to welcome you back to another issue

of North Country Living Magazine. As summer draws near, we’d like to encourage you, the reader, to take an adventure and explore some of the interesting places this region has to offer.

As always, North Country Living is here to help you get started. From the area’s natural beauty—its dramatic waterfalls and countless wildfl owers—to Fort Ticonderoga, one of America’s most historic locations, we have something for everyone. And speaking of history, be sure to check out some of this issue’s features, which tell stories of hometown heroes, hometown tall tales, and the rustic lives of early Vermont farmers.

If you’d like to tell us what you think, please send a letter to the editor at [email protected]. And if you see something you like, be sure to give us a “like” on our Facebook page.

Until next time,Shaun KittleEditor, North Country Living Magazine

Background: An osprey welcomes spring at Ausable Point State Park in New York.Photo by Shaun KittleCover: Historic interpreters keep history alive and well at Fort Ticonderoga.Photo by Kelsey Freeman

EditorShaun Kittle

Contributing Writers

Contributing PhotographerNancy Frasier

Art direction, layout, and designShaun Kittle

Published byNew Market Press, Inc. Denton Publications, Inc.16 Creek Road, Suite 5, 14 Hand AvenueMiddlebury, VT 05753 Elizabethtown, NY 12932(802) 388-6397 (518) 873-6368Fax: (802) 388-6399 Fax: (518) 873-6360

Copyright 2013, New Market Press, Inc./Denton Publications, Inc.

Katherine ClarkMatthew CohenJohn Gereau

Fred HerbstLou Varricchio

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CONTENTSVol. 2 No. 2

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

Keeping history alive is a year-round jobWalk through history at Fort Ti 16

The vibrant splendor of the North Country’s wildflowers

Where the wild things grow 26

How true are the tales of Frank T. Hopkins?A curious claim to fame 32

Plattsburgh race car driver Mike Perrotte will never slow downLife in the fast lane 36

The story behind Ticonderoga chamber director Matt Courtright

Contagious enthusiasm 42

The strange and humorous happenings of life in Vermont

Tales told by my grandfather 22

Q & A 40Giving Back 50

Local Flavor 12Eye on the Arts 11Out and About 10

8Destination

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On June 8, 1763, former New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth chartered the area encompassing Stowe to 64 men, designating them as “proprietors.” None

of the men settled there, and it wasn’t until 30 years later that a man named Oliver Luce, along with his wife and two daughters, settled on land about two miles north of the present-day Village of Stowe.

Other settlers followed, and soon Stowe grew to include the towns of Mansfield and part of Sterling. At 72.7 square miles, it is the second largest township in Vermont—only two-and-a-half square miles shy of Chittenden. In its early days, Stowe was a farm town, but its cash crop was potash. Used in creating lye, potash was extracted from the ash of trees that were burned to clear land. Lye was valued for its usefulness in curing foods, soap making, and as a cleaning agent.

Today, even though there are some full-time residents, Stowe is primarily a resort town, with facilities and activities available year-round. While Stowe has several ski resorts, it is probably best known for Smugglers’ Notch, which is located in nearby Jeffersonville. Known locally as “Smuggs”, the mountainside resort is a popular destination for vacationing families all around the country and offers amenities year round including a water park in the summer, a ski center and school in the winter, condominium lodging, and kids’ programs.

One of Stowe’s other mountain resorts, Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa, offers more than vacation services. In fact, the resort is famous for a popular weekend-long event: the annual Stoweflake

Hot Air Balloon Festival. Traditionally held in July, the festival is celebrating its 27th year at Stoweflake’s fairgrounds this year. The festivities will include live entertainment by local musicians Jim Charonko and Jeff Nicholson, balloon launches throughout the day, multiple dining choices, and a beer and wine garden. Full hot air balloon ride packages are available, and tethered rides—flying the balloon while it’s tied to the ground or a vehicle—are also available.

Stowe is famous for another vehicle-related event, but this one takes place on the ground. The largest all-British-car show on the East Coast, “The British Invasion” has been held annually since 1990. The gathering attracts hundreds of British car enthusiasts, who display about 650 different makes and models of British automobiles and compete in the People’s Choice and Concours d’Elegance car shows, two of the most prestigious judging events in the automotive world.

The British Invasion isn’t all about cars, though. There is also a Colonial British encampment, complete with 200 participants dressed in full Colonial British garb, and plenty of food, drinks, cars, and other British-inspired products for sale.

In addition to being a popular destination, Stowe is also home to a vibrant arts and entertainment culture. Since 1957, the Stowe Theatre Guild, a volunteer community theatre organization, has made audiences laugh and cry during its many performances. The Theatre Guild no stranger to fame, either; award-winning actors Morgan Freeman and Meryl Streep were once actors with the Guild.

For more information, visit GoStowe.com.

Near the intersection of Routes 100 and 108 in Vermont, a curious little gem lies in the shadow of Mt. Mansfield.

Known for its mountain resorts and perfectly manicured lawns, Stowe is a popular tourist destination with a history

dating back to the late 18th century.

Stowe, Vermont | Destination

PAGE 9 NCL Vol. 2 No. 2

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OUT AND ABOUT | Mountain waterfalls

Bingham Falls, StoweKnown for its crystal-clear, almost Carribean-like

teal blue water, Bingham Falls in Stowe is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the state. In the spring, the current swells, providing a thunderous plunge of water along a series of cascades through a high gorge that culminates in the 25-foot main attraction. A stone stairway was recently constructed, allowing access to the base of the falls and the picturesque, deep round pool there. The hike is a quick, 20-minute walk posted as .3 miles to the lowermost plunge.

How to get thereThe falls are located a short hike off Route 108 in

Stowe, about 1.5 miles southeast of Smugglers Notch, with off-road parking available in a large turnout. There is a sign indicating Bingham Falls and a well marked path.

Falls of Lana, SalisburyThe Falls of Lana should grace your must-see list.

The falls tumble and roll through a series of drops in a unique gorge, with a total drop of 100 feet. The Falls of Lana is fed by Sucker Brook, which makes a series of turns and cutbacks, dropping more than 30 feet on two occasions and running through a middle tier that resembles a set of stairs. The bottom pool is awash with sunlight on clear days and is a popular swimming location. It is a gentle half mile hike to the lower falls, but the climb to the upper falls can be much more diffi cult, especially on wet days.

How to get thereTake Route 7 south from Middlebury to Salisbury,

then turn east on Route 53 toward Lake Dunmore. Take Route 53 for 3 miles, until you cross Sucker Brook. On the right will be a powerhouse and a long penstock to the left. Park here and follow the penstock up hill. You can view the middle tier once you reach the height of the ground continue on and you’ll encounter a foot trail on the left to leads to the upper falls and Silver Lake.

Roaring Brook Falls, Keene ValleyPerhaps the most family friendly day hike to a

waterfall in the Adirondacks exists off Route 73 in Keene Valley, New York. Roaring Brook Falls is accessed by a fl at, .3 mile hike that ends in a rolling riverbed at the base of the falls. The waterfall drops off the side of Giant Mountain, plummeting nearly straight down some 325 feet, cascading into a mist at a number of places along the way.

How to get thereThe Roaring Brook Falls trailhead is directly off

Route 73, about 5 miles south of the High Peaks sign in Keene Valley, and 4 miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 73 in Underwood. There is a small parking lot at the base of a hill, and the trail is well marked. It is also a popular access point to Giant Mountain.

Wilmington Notch Waterfall, WilmingtonNot to be confused with the fl ume, which is a few

miles down the river, the falls at Wilmington Notch are located just behind the Wilmington Notch State Park Campground. The hike down to the waterfall, which offers drops exceeding 50-feet, is quick at just .1 mile but is somewhat steep, so caution should be taken with small children, especially on rainy days.

How to get thereFrom the village of Lake Placid, proceed east on

Route 86 toward Wilmington. Once you pass the High Falls Gorge, you will come to the Wilmington Notch State Park Campground. From downtown Wilmington, the campground is just past the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center.

Buttermilk Falls, Long LakeOne of the most popular waterfalls in the

Adirondacks includes a series of rolling cascades on the Raquette River in Long Lake. In total, Buttermilk Falls drop about 40 feet into a deep, clear plunge pool that is perfect for an afternoon swim on a hot day. The falls can nearly be seen from the parking area, making it an easy a 5-minute walk that is conducive to the entire family.

How to get thereProceed south from Long Lake on Routes

30/28N, driving along the lake until the road makes a steep bend up a hill to the left. You will see North Point Road exiting to the right. Take this road for approximately 2 miles until you hit a small parking area on the right, complete with a sign saying Buttermilk Falls.

Lye Brook Falls, ManchesterLye Brook Falls, just east of Manchester Center,

cascades down a sheer rock face of 160 feet, spilling into a pool below. The hike into the falls is a gentle 2.3 miles, with an 800-900 foot change in elevation. The trek takes an hour and a half along a well-marked trail through the Lye Brook Wilderness that ends at an unprotected overlook at the base of the falls.

How to get thereStarting in Manchester from Route 7A, turn east on

Depot Street and continue for about half a mile, then turn right on Richville Road. Just a short way down the road at the Post Offi ce, turn left on East Manchester Road and cross beneath Route 7, then turn right on the Lye Brook Falls Access Road. The sign here says Glen Road, but there is another sign noting Lye Brook Falls access. Follow this access road to the where it ends in a parking area. The trail leaves the parking area at the far end, where a registry should be signed.

Roaring Brook Falls in Keene Valley, New YorkPhoto by Shaun Kittle

Waterfalls of theNorth Country

New York VermontStory by John Gereau

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ROTA GalleryA community cooperative that’s all about artStory and photos by Shaun Kittle

ROTA Gallery | EYE ON THE ARTS

n the outside, ROTA Gallery looks like any other storefront

in downtown Plattsburgh. The space is anything but ordinary,

though. Throughout the year, the crisp interior of the art cooperative’s main gallery plays host to a rotating cast of painters, writers, musicians, lecturers, and fire spinners. Downstairs, in the unfinished basement, bands from all over the Northeast come to perform. It’s true that an undeniably eclectic and seemingly random collection of interests are represented at ROTA, but that isn’t an accident. It’s by design.

“This is a nurturing environment,” says Kaitlyn Donovan, ROTA Gallery’s president. “My idea was to create a platform where all types of mediums can be displayed.”

ROTA took its first breath when founder Tavish Costello opened the gallery in 2010 on Clinton Street under the name Rotagilla Gallery. There was no hidden meaning behind the moniker—it is simply “alligator” spelled backward—but the shortened version, “Rota,” stuck when the gallery moved into its present-day location on Margaret Street in Dec. 2011.

“We needed a bigger space, and we wanted to be located downtown,” Donovan says.

Costello has since left the ROTA fold, but that’s okay. The gallery has, as Donovan put it, “taken on a life of its own.” As a non-profit cooperative space, ROTA relies on contributions, both monetarily and

conceptually, to remain strong and keep moving forward. Contributors who meet certain membership requirements are also able to vote on upcoming projects and renovations. The space can be rented, too, so with every new member, and with every new show, class, or workshop, ROTA adds another offering to its already lengthy list.

So now, only two years after its downtown inception, there is something to do almost every night at ROTA. There are classes for activities like yoga, Zumba, art technique, freestyle self-defense, herbalism, capoeira, fire poi, and qigong, a Chinese health care system that utilizes breathing and postures to help loosen tight muscles and relieve stress. Musical performances range from acoustic guitar by candle light to fake-blood-spitting punk shows. Sometimes movies are screened, and sometimes activists rent the space to hold press conferences.

Since everyone is accepted, everything is fair game. It is in this way that ROTA strives to bring the community together through expression and a collective desire to be expressive. “It really is empowering,” says Chris Ostuni, ROTA Gallery’s poetry coordinator. “It’s given me a sense of worth, and has pushed me forward as an artist.”

ROTA Gallery is located at 50 Margaret Street, Plattsburgh, NY.

For more information visit RotaGallery.org., email [email protected], or call (518) 335-3994.

Photo by Luke T. Bush

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LOCAL FLAVOR | Classic Split Pea Soup

Soup from theFront Lines


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Classic Split Pea Soup

Recipe submitted by Cameron Green,Military Programs SupervisorFort Ticonderoga Association

TO COOK:

YOU WILL NEED:

cups of split peaslbs. beef or salt porkcups of wateryellow onions, dicedTbsp. salt, unless using salt porkcups other vegetables, like carrots or turnips, dicedpepper, to taste

51 1/4

82

2 1/22

Serves 4-6Total time: Less than one hour

Rinse peas thoroughly and put them in a pot with water. Add salt if beef is being used. If using salt pork, the salt from the pork will salt the soup.Place pot over high heat and boil the water.While the peas are boiling, dice the vegetables and meat.Add any hard vegetables, like carrots, right away.When the peas are about half way cooked, add any soft vegetables, like onions. Add the cubed meat as well.Stirring occasionally, reduce heat to medium and cook until the peas, vegetables, and meat are done. The peas are done when they have been boiled down to a paste.Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.

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One of the most common meals eaten by French soldiers at Fort Carillon was pea soup. Soldier’s meals were cooked and eaten in groups of eight soldiers called a mess. These soldiers

would pool their rations, or issued food, together to make up their meals. Each soldier at Fort Carillon was issued four ounces of peas and a half pound of salt pork, amongst other food. These food items, which made up the bulk of the meal, could also be mixed with fresh vegetables, game meat, and spices such as pepper. Of course, any additions depended on what was available to the soldiers at the time. This soup would have been cooked in an iron kettle that the soldiers took turns carrying. They took turns cooking the meal as well, and the cook would split the portions up equally and serve the soup with their issued bread.

Story by Cameron GreenPhoto by Shaun Kittle


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Walk through history

The sounds of battle—the cries of a charging army, the thunderous “clopping” of horse hooves, and the deathly silence that follows the last sharp peal of musket fire—

can still be heard at Fort Ticonderoga. And now, more than 250 years after it was built by the French military to protect a narrow corridor on Lake Champlain, and therefore keep New France and Britain’s American colonies separate, the massive structure still has a heartbeat. History is very much alive here, and it is played out with breathtaking accuracy by those who seek to preserve it.

It is the off-season at Fort Ticonderoga, which means there are no curious visitors exploring the property, and no soldiers marching off to battle. Shaun Pekar stands at a workbench, pushing an awl through a piece of bovine leather. He twists lengths of hemp fiber together and weaves them through the newly punched series of holes, and then turns to a bucket that sits on the floor behind him. Pekar dips his hand into the tea-colored water, removing another

piece of leather. He bends it and drops it back into the bucket—it has softened, and should be ready to be worked in the morning.

Pekar is an artificer shoemaker, a somewhat cumbersome title for someone who makes shoes the old-fashioned way. He explains that, when the shoes are finished, there won’t be a distinct left or right. The wearer will simply try the nearly identical pair on, switch them to different feet if they feel uncomfortable, and the act of wearing them will cause the leather to conform itself to the shape of the person’s feet.

Handmade shoes are just one small tool in the arsenal of Fort Ticonderoga’s historic interpreters, who work year-round to provide an immersive experience for their visitors. The interpreters will not only walk around in the shoes Pekar is making, they will also don handmade clothes. But that’s not all. This summer, they will even grow a garden and prepare their historically accurate rations from it (see Local Flavor, p. 12). The amount of detail is

Story by Shaun Kittle Photos by Kelsey Freeman

Fort Ticonderogaat


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This page: At Fort Ticonderoga, historic interpreters train year-round to re-enact life as it was at the fort, around camp, and during battle.Facing page: The walls surrounding Fort Ticonderoga overlook Lake Champlain and are lined with cannon. PAGE 17 NCL Vol. 2 No. 2

A17

all-inclusive, but aesthetics are only a small part of what goes on at the fort. Past the wooden gates and behind the massive stone walls, a swarm of planning, preparing, and researching takes place to prepare for the next round of reenactments, workshops, tours, and activities.The template for everything that takes place at the fort comes from three places—artifacts, journals, and historic research. It is, in essence, like putting a big puzzle together, and when those three elements collide they form a picture of what life for the soldiers was like in the 17th Century. The uniforms, the weapons, the food—even the wooden toolbox Pekar pulls awls from—are all historically accurate. It is, at its core, full immersion into lives and events that have long since passed.And in a place where battles were frequently waged, those events were often brutal, and lives were often lost. Cameron Green, the Military Programs Supervisor at the Fort, is responsible for putting together the battle sequences. Like Pekar’s shoes, the battles are carried out as they happened, and oftentimes, they are replicated in the same place they happened. “Each year we follow a story arc,” Green says. This year’s arc will cover 1775−1777, and will include Benedict Arnold’s role during the first three years of the American Revolution. There will also be re-enactments of the Battle of Carillon, which took place on July 8, 1758.Last winter, visitors were brought into the woods on the Fort’s 2,000 acre campus, where they experienced the 1758 “Battle on Snowshoes.” The event recreated a battle in which British soldiers ambushed a patrol consisting of Native Americans and French soldiers in a ravine. Likely emboldened by the small patrol party,

the British proceeded to pursue them out of the ravine and straight into the sights of the French army, who in turn slaughtered the British soldiers.“We try to get people right into the action,” Green says.But jaw-dropping, live-action battle scenes are only a part of the history of Fort Ticonderoga. Visitors can watch soldiers prepare for battle, learn about plants in the King’s Garden, go on guided history tours, and watch the drum and fife corps perform. Standing next to one of the many cannon that line the wall protecting the fort, Beth Hill, director of Fort Ticonderoga, points out the three small mountains that surround Fort Ticonderoga: Defiance, Independence, and Hope. For Hill, they are a reminder of what the fort means to her, and why she finds it so important to share that meaning with others. “Those ideals transcend space and time,” Hill says. “Our story is in our landscape.”

Every summer, visitors to Fort Ticonderoga can witness epic battles re-enacted by historic interpreters who don authentic, handmade apparel.


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A21

If you don’t think fact is stranger—and funnier—than fi ction, just ask Rusty Clark DeVoid, the author of a

new book about life in old Vermont titled “Horse Tales and Hoof Prints.” The colorful collection of true stories, with just a few bordering on the fantastic, recounts what it was like to live in Vermont from the 1920s through the World War II years.

“Many of the events in my book actually happened,” DeVoid says. “Most were related to me by my father and his father. The stories were passed on as bona fi de experiences in their lives and their neighbors’ lives.”

Growing up, DeVoid spent countless hours listening to his grandparents stories. At the time, the future author took the storytelling as gospel, and later retold them to his family and friends. In the telling, a traditional of rugged, self-suffi cient rural New England storytelling was kept alive.

As far back as the late 1700s, Vermonters were already self-suffi cient and lived on farms hewn from the rocky New England wilderness. Farmers in those days lived simply and survived off

the land they husbanded, meaning they ate nearly all of the food produced on their own farms.

But they had some help. As DeVoid’s grandparents stories illustrated, horses, and to a lesser extent oxen, played a major role as the “tractors” of pre-Industrial Age farming here. Times changed, though, and with those changes came new livestock.

When sheep were introduced just before the outbreak of the War of 1812, they quickly became an exportable source of income. So much, in fact, that Merino sheep exported from Vermont helped transform the farm economy of the distant continent of Australia.

Signs of the new economy soon scarred the state. In the era of sheep farming in Vermont, forested slopes were clearcut for fi rewood and to make way for sheep grazing. Faded photographs of the rural landscape between the 1860s and 1880s reveal a place that looks an awful lot like eastern Wyoming.

Prior to the Civil War, Vermont farmers began concentrating more on dedicated dairy operations. And when the refrigerated railroad car was introduced in 1910, milk could be shipped greater distances from the farm and co-op dairies. Thanks to the railroads, people living in Boston and New York City were drinking fresh milk from farms located more than 100 miles away.

But even with technological advancements in transporting dairy, and other farm goods, to market, many Vermont farmers relied on their horses for basic labor chores. In fact, not every farmer had a motor tractor to rely upon, even through the years of the Great Depression.

Tales

Story by Lou Varricchio Photos provided

mymymyby


A22


DeVoid started writing “Horse Tales” in 2009. He wanted to write down all the stories his father, Floyd DeVoid, told him about life growing up on a farm in Jeffersonville, Vt. It took him a year to assemble all the stories, with various names, taken from notes and memories through the years.

While he didn’t have many family photos to use in the book,

one monochrome image—showing his great grandfather farming in Jeffersonville in 1949—graces the cover. No matter, the DeVoid family’s farm life is symbolic of many Vermont farming families from the Great Depression and World War II eras.

“History is not to be disregarded. That’s why I regret not learning more about my family’s roots,” DeVoid admits. “But the stories I collected are like the songs of a troubadour in the Middle Ages. They were told at meeting places, at county fairs, and social gatherings.”

DeVoid is so excited by the stories, he hopes more people will read them and tell stories of their own. “The stories carried excitement and fl avor about people who wrestled to survive and prosper on Vermont farms,” he says.

Aside from the mainstay livestock of most Vermont farmers of the years DeVoid recounts—the cow—horses

were an inseparable part of these hardscrabble folks. Only today have the number of horses in Vermont come anywhere near the equine levels of the past. However, horses in Vermont now are no longer a necessity, but an expensive hobby, a luxury requiring a considerable income to properly feed, shelter, and graze—but not so 100 years ago.

“Muscles, sweat, and a strong back were vital tools for survival back then,” DeVoid says. “Horses fi t right in as obedient members of the family. They were a dedicated, loyal power source that helped shape not only Vermont, but the entire nation.”

Several of DeVoid’s stories, told to him by his father, include horses—on the farm and in town. “Many a tankard has been tipped to a worthy animal and their stories deserve telling,” he

Aside from the mainstay livestock of most Vermont farmers of the years DeVoid recounts—the cow—horses

told

Top left: A Vermont farm family in a wagon in 1936.

Top right: United Farmers Milk Cooperative in Troy, Vt. Photo by

Carl Mydans in August, 1936.

Bottom left: An old Vermont farmhouse.

Right: A Vermont farmer who won the weight-pulling contest at

the Tunbridge, Vt., Fair. Photo by Jack Delano, 1941.

grandparents

“Muscles, sweat, and a strong back were vital tools for survival back then.”


A23

In “The Best Town Meeting Ever,” DeVoid’s grandmother Cora of Underhill takes center stage in a story concerning a horse named Molly. “Molly was my grandparents’ horse,” DeVoid says. “She didn’t need a pulling collar because the carriage she pulled only weighed about half the horse.”

In a story that dates back to 1929, the year of the stock market crash, DeVoid tells the story of a Vermont man who mortgages his house to make a trip to Chicago. A skeptical fellow who has never left the state wonders why. “Nothing but cement, brick and macadam,” he warns the would-be big city traveler. “Ain’t no trees anywhere. No grass either. I don’t know how people breathe. And there’s a hotel on every corner, and a restaurant in between. Seems like they’re all busy, too.”

For all the quaint, nostalgic details in DeVoid’s fi rst book, there is a clear longing for the past in these tales. Regardless of

whether they are 100 percent true, or have been sweetened with retelling over the years, they connect the reader to a past that exists in our individual and collective memories.

Farming was never an easy life, but the Vermonters who made their living by it have a story to tell, a story DeVoid helps them tell. There are also lessons to learn about people to trust, and people not to trust, and there is always a steady connection between people, their animals, and the land.

With the publication of his new book, the 66 year old DeVoid, who lives in Hinesburg with his wife Joyce, has brought to life the down-to-earth, and sometimes eccentric, lives of a cast of rural and town characters that would delight anyone interested in a time before televisions, computers, and mobile telephones.

It is a life the DeVoids, who are both native Vermonters, are familiar with. Rusty worked on a farm in Hinesburg during his youth. He and Joyce fi rst met while students at Champlain Valley Union High School.

The couple was fortunate enough to acquire and rescue Joyce’s family farm on Hinesburg’s Hayden Hill. The up-country farm was in Joyce’s family for several generations and has since become a private museum showcasing a way of life that for many of us only exists in old photographs or movies.

The DeVoids restored the 1882 Hinesburg farmhouse into a place of simple beauty. It is decorated with various heirlooms, of value only to the owners, along with other period things, such as Joyce’s grandmother’s ice box. There are even classic, old hand tools from around the farm on display.

Perhaps most cherished is the DeVoids’ massive cast-iron kitchen stove—it is the centerpiece of the home. “We spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s quiet there. We don’t have television anywhere in the house,” DeVoid says proudly. “After Red Skelton went off the air, I don’t know anyone else on T.V. But I’ll say that we do have a telephone and the internet.”

DeVoid’s lifestyle echoes his feeling that today’s world moves too quickly for us to notice the natural environment, or to take measure of the simple, yet important, aspects of living. He appears to enjoy the same simple lifestyle of many of the people recounted in “Horse Tales,” and is proud of the fact that much of today’s world doesn’t fi lter through the fortress of his idyllic homestead. “There’s really nothing we need,” he says. “We have a garden; we grow and can our own vegetables. This is how our parents, and their parents, lived. Today’s society lunges forward, hungry for progress. But I believe it is necessary to stop occasionally and look around. Consider the past—where have we been, where are we going?”

In “The Best Town Meeting Ever,” DeVoid’s grandmother Cora of Underhill takes center stage in a story concerning a horse named Molly. “Molly was my grandparents’ horse,” DeVoid says. “She didn’t need a pulling collar because the carriage she

With the publication of his new book, the 66 year old DeVoid, who lives in

Right: A 12-year-old boy tending chickens with his

father in Bennington, Vt.

Below: Rusty Clark and Joyce DeVoid: living a

simple life in Hinesburg, Vt. Photo by Lou Varricchio

country farm was in Joyce’s family for several generations and has since become a private museum showcasing a way of life that for many of us only exists in old photographs or movies.

place of simple beauty. It is decorated with various heirlooms, of value only to the owners, along with other period things, such as Joyce’s grandmother’s ice box. There are even classic, old hand tools from around the farm on display.

kitchen stove—it is the centerpiece of the home. “We spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s quiet there. We don’t have television anywhere in the house,” DeVoid says proudly. “After Red Skelton went off the air, I don’t know anyone else on T.V. But I’ll say that we do have a telephone and the internet.”

too quickly for us to notice the natural environment, or to take measure of the simple, yet important, aspects of living. He


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herethehings

Story by Shaun KittlePhotos by Nancy Frasier

wildTT

W W

wGrPAGE 26 Email us at [email protected]

A26


Fortunately, they grow everywhere. And for most of the year, the bright, variegated petals of wildflowers punctuates lawns, adds effulgent accents to roadsides, and juts precipitously from cracks in cliffs. Delicate low-growers, like the pin cushion plant and alpine sandwort, delight visitors to the alpine summits of the Adirondack High Peaks, and the distinct, nodding flowers of pitcher plants, found in places like Lake Carmi State Park in Enosburg Falls, Vermont, are an often-overlooked gem.

Painters, photographers, writers, and poets have strived for centuries to capture such beauty, to somehow emulate the impression they leave upon our being. Where many have tried, few have succeeded as well as poet Robert Frost. Frost had a way of delving into human nature—and the natural world—with a fluid and poignant rhythm. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes pensive, and always provocative, his words are as timeless as the waves that beat against the shores of Lake Champlain.

Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874, and became a New Englander in his adult years. His first professional poem, “My Butterfly,” was published on November 8, 1894, in the New York newspaper The Independent. He frequented several regions, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Middlebury, Vermont, where he taught almost every summer from 1921-1963 at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English, located in the mountains of nearby Ripton. Today, the college owns and maintains Frost’s former Ripton farmstead as a national historic site near the Bread Loaf campus.

Frost was awarded four Pulitzer prizes over the course of his life, and wrote plays, prose, and more than 20 books of poetry. He died of complications from prostate surgery in Boston on January 29, 1963 and was buried at the Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. His epitaph quotes the last line from his poem, The Lesson for Today (1942): “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.”

The North Country landscape wouldn’t be complete without the color of wildflowers.


A27

A saturated meadow, Sun-shaped and jewel-small, A circle scarcely wider Than the trees around were tall;Where winds were quite excluded, And the air was stifling sweet With the breath of many flowers, A temple of the heat.

Rose PogoniasTop photos and bottom

left photo by Shaun Kittle


A28

Email us at [email protected] PAGE 29 NCL Vol. 2 No. 2

A29

There we bowed us in the burning,As the sun’s right worship is,To pick where none could miss themA thousand orchises;For though the grass was scattered,Yet every second spearSeemed tipped with wings of color,That tinged the atmosphere.We raised a simple prayerBefore we left the spot,That in the general mowingThat place might be forgot;Or if not all so favoured,Obtain such grace of hours,That none should mow the grass thereWhile so confused with flowers.

- From “A Boy’s Will” by Robert Frost, 1913


A30

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A31

Story by Lou VarricchioPhotos provided

T he popular 2004 Disney/Touchstone movie, “Hidalgo”—written by Vermonter John Fusco—has had a number of Western, and Vermont, history scholars in a tizzy. The “based on a true

story” movie tells the amazing tale of U.S. Cavalry dispatcher, Buffalo hunter, and stunt rider Frank T. Hopkins, and a mustang named Hidalgo.

Hopkins claimed to have competed in, and won, more than 400 endurance horse races, including the 1890 “Ocean of Fire” race—a 3,000-mile trek from Aden to Syria across the Arabian Desert—which was depicted in the Disney movie.

But Hopkins, it turns out, may have been among the biggest wild west story tellers to ever warm his saddle sores beside a

trailside campfire. “The races run and won by Hopkins make up, to say the least, an impressive catalogue,” says blogger Peter Harrigan. “If substantiated, they place Hopkins well at the head of horseback-endurance riders in history. In Hopkins’ unpublished autobiographical manuscript, he claims to have participated in 289 races in the U.S., 11 in Mexico, 68 in Argentina, 38 in Japan, three in India, four each in Italy, Russia and Singapore, five in France, three in Germany, just one in England, and an astonishing 14 in Mongolia.”

Harrigan continues, “Regarding the movie’s Ocean of Fire race: Hopkins came in 33 hours ahead of the next horse. I

spoke with a well-known historian who told me that there is no way that race records would have been kept in Arabia in 1890.”

It seems that Hopkins, a one-time Ringling Brothers Circus horseman and pioneering wild-mustang conservationist, left behind an unsettled trail of wild-west stories that historians have only recently begun wading through for the truth. Aside from the not-too-startling news that “Hidalgo” presents fiction as fact, another Hopkins account bragged about a nearly 1,800-mile-long endurance horse race between Texas and Vermont in October 1886, an event that is also seriously disputed by historians.

According to a History Channel documentary, “The True

Story of Hidalgo,” both the Arabian desert and Texas-to-Vermont races, as described by Hopkins and portrayed in various news articles and unpublished memories, were flights of pure equine fancy.

“Hopkins’ claims are so outrageously false that one wonders why the Disney people were attracted to this material at all. Hopkins should have been awarded the World’s Greatest Liar Award,” wrote Dr. Vine Deloria, Jr., a leading Native American scholar, historian, and writer.

However, the Disney movie’s screenwriter, John Fusco, still insists that the screen story is mostly factual—as in, not

“Hopkins later claimed close encounters with Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and—last but not least—Billy the Kid.”

claim tofame

curiousA


A32


in Rutland, Vermont?really win a horse race

Frank T. Hopkins Did “Hidalgo” horseman

100 percent of it is true. Fusco has attempted to present his side of the story, and is the person behind the Vermont-based FrankHopkins.com website.

It would stand to reason that the Long Riders Guild, the world's international association of men and women who have ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey, might find Hopkins to be its hero. But they too have a problem with Hopkins’ tales.

Officials of the LRG have gone out of their way to caution researchers about Fusco’s website. They even issued an Internet notice about the Vermont-based site: “The Long Riders' Guild wishes to issue a public warning concerning the ownership, and mission, of the website known as FrankHopkins.com. Because our investigation revealed that Hopkins was America's largest equestrian fraud, Mr. Fusco set into motion a series of efforts designed to camouflage Hopkins’ lack of historical credibility.”

Fusco, whose Oscar-nominated screenwriting produced

several well-known film scripts including “Young Guns,” “Young Guns II,” “Crossroads,” “Thunderheart,” and “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” lives in Vermont. He owns the Red Road Farm in Morrisville, which functions as both a loving home for retired movie horses and as the headquarters of the American Indian Horse Conservancy. The Conservancy’s primary mission, Fusco states, is to save the Spanish mustang.

Fusco, along with Dr. Phillip Sponenberg of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bryant Rickman of Oklahoma, and the Return to Freedom Organization, are helping to preserve the genetic heritage of North America’s Spanish colonial horses before they vanish. Another Vermont ranch which has recently become home to wild mustangs is Pond Hill Ranch in Castleton. The ranch also has the distinction of operating Vermont’s only professional rodeo.

”Frank Hopkins is a hero of mine,” Fusco told the Los Angeles Times at the time “Hidalgo” was released. “The film is based on his horsemanship philosophy. Maybe this is


A33

legend, maybe it’s created, but there is no doubt in my mind that Frank Hopkins was a knowledgeable horseman and acknowledged distance rider, and more importantly he was an early proponent of mustang preservation. Hopkins still lives as legend, as folklore in that world, and still inspires, no matter what the truth is.”

Regarding Hopkins’ race to Vermont, James Davidson of the Vermont Historical Society says, “There is nothing in the local newspapers around that time, 1886, about a race ending in Rutland. At that time, everything was reported, even somebody going to New York City for the weekend. So it’s inconceivable that such an interesting event would have gone unnoticed. The only endurance race Hopkins ever took part in was with his pencil.”

Supposedly born at Fort Laramie, Wyo., in 1865, Frank T. Hopkins’ father was a U.S. Army scout and his mother was a Sioux Indian.

Hopkins’ love of horses began at the famous Wyoming fort while playing cowboys and Indians with native boys and learning to handle their wild Spanish mustangs, then referred to as Indian ponies.

While still a teen, Hopkins claimed that he was hired by Army Generals Nelson A. Miles and George C. Crook as a crack cavalry dispatch rider. It was Hopkins who supposedly carried a message to the U.S. 7th Cavalry approving the military action on the Sioux which resulted in the Battle of Wounded Knee in South Dakota. (Wounded Knee took place in 1890, the same year as the Ocean of Fire race.)

As an Army rider, Hopkins claimed to have covered hundreds of miles between various Wyoming frontier outposts and settler camps. In the meantime, he learned to speak fluent Lakota (Sioux) by the age 18.

By age 20, Hopkins was supposedly the fastest cavalry rider alive. He acquired two nicknames, or so he claimed—Laramie Kid and Long Rider. Hopkins later claimed close encounters with Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and—last but not least—Billy the Kid.

Shortly after his 21st birthday, Hopkins learned about an upcoming endurance race sponsored by a gambler named Buffalo Jones. The race, which supposedly included high rollers like Jones betting on the outcome, was scheduled to leave Galveston, Texas, located on the Gulf of Mexico, and

stretch all the way north to Rutland, Vt. The winner of the race would receive a $3,000 prize, a staggering amount of money in those days.

By Hopkins’ own account, he left Wyoming for Texas with an unbroken 800-pound horse named Joe Hopkins, which he claimed was “a dark buckskin with black tips, mane, and tail.” Upon arriving in Galveston, Hopkins entered his name in the upcoming race.

So, by Hopkins telling, on Sept. 6, 1886, 56 riders gathered at the starting line at Old Ferry Point on Galveston Island. There he was joined by a ragtag gang of cowpokes, ex-cavalry men, American Indians, and military dispatch riders. At the sound of a pistol, the riders started off on the long, rough,

overland ride to Vermont. Only one horse per rider was

permitted in the race, and a day’s journey could not exceed 10 hours in length. Each rider carried a card which was presented to judges along the route, who kept a tally of the riders.

Aside from Hopkins’ personal account of the event, there is no other mention of the race in either Texas or Vermont archives. “We’ve referenced every newspaper between 1880 and 1890, but there is absolutely no mention of Frank T. Hopkins or a race from Texas to Vermont,” says Casey Greene, head of the Rosenberg Library in Galveston.

On the way to Rutland, Hopkins claimed, riders slept at night and kept an exhausting pace by day.

In the muddy Mississippi country, on the seventeenth day of the race, Hopkins—astride Joe the horse—said he caught up with, and passed, the lathered front runner.

Two weeks later, 31 days after leaving Galveston, Hopkins and Joe galloped into downtown Rutland to win the race and the $3,000 prize. Hopkins, with Joe as his

transport, averaged 57.7 miles per day during the 1,788-mile-long race. In a 1940 article penned by Hopkins in an issue of the Vermont Horse and Bridle Bulletin, he claimed to have stayed in Rutland 13 days until the next rider rode into town.

After leaving Vermont and stepping off a train in Laramie (we’re not sure what happened to Joe the horse in the interim), Hopkins claimed he was greeted by Buffalo Bill Cody. On the train platform, Buffalo Bill invited Hopkins to join his popular Wild West Show as one the great showman’s Congress

Above: Buffalo Bill Cody was one of the many famous companions Hopkins claimed to keep company with.Facing page: A 1902 poster advertising Buffalo Bill Cody’s Rough Riders of the World performers. Frank T. Hopkins claimed he was on of Cody’s Rider, but historians doubt he ever met the Wild West showman. Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska.


A34

of Rough Riders of the World. Hopkins accepted and rode off with Cody’s show for several years.

Dr. Juti Winchester, curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, says, “We are unable to find any Frank T. Hopkins in our database of known cast members, acquaintances, employees, or friends of Colonel Cody.” However, some Hopkins apologists, including Fusco, note that he may appear in photographs of

the Rough Riders.There might be some truth to Hopkins’ legacy, though. His

name does appear in the Ringling Brothers Circus archives as a big-top horse performer. Beyond that fact, Hopkins life is an open book—an open storybook, most historians now say.

During the 1940s, Hopkins is also reported to have returned to Vermont to visit the Rutland Fairgrounds as the honored judge of an equine event held at the fair, although no one later recalled the reunion.

For a time, Hopkins was the talk of the Vermont equestrian community, primarily because of a few articles he wrote

which appeared in the Vermont Horse and Bridle Bulletin; in fact, they are the only record we have of the Texas-Vermont endurance race.

“The only scraps of Hopkins’ life that add up are an indication that he may have worked in a circus where he would have been exposed to the horse shows of the day,” the late Bill Muller, an investigative reporter with the Arizona Republic newspaper, wrote when Disney released its Hopkins

movie. “One of the historians suggested that Hopkins was probably a Walter Mitty-type cowboy who wistfully watched Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show pass by on a street corner and invented the whole thing. And that’s fine. Made-up stories often make for great movies. Given the exhaustive research done on Hopkins, the story is clearly a work of fiction.”

Sometime during the 1940s, Hopkins moved from Los Angeles to New York City. Except for his Vermont Horse and Bridle Bulletin writings, he lived quietly in the New York area until his death in 1951. He is buried at Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens County, N.Y.

“The only endurance race Hopkins ever took part in was with his pencil.”

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A35


Plattsburgh native Mike Perrotte competed in his fi rst race at the Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburgh. It is the very same track he manages and promotes today, and even though a lot has changed since then, some things still remain the same.

Take a step into Perrotte’s offi ce, which overlooks the track, and all of the usual things found at a racetrack pop out: headsets for the pit crews, announcement equipment, computers, and paperwork—it is like a gallery of days past.

The room is also fi lled with inspirational decorations, like a ceramic tile that reads, “Follow Your Dreams. Work Hard. Be Kind.” It’s a testament to Perrotte’s work ethic, and he understands it, too. Between racing at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway on the weekends during Airborne Speedway’s off-season, and promoting during the weekdays, to say Perrotte lives a busy life would be an understatement. “Promoting is a 24/7 business. Same as anything, really—you get out what you put into it,” he says.

But it wasn’t always that way. When Perrotte came into the promotion business in 2005, Airborne was in a state of extreme disrepair. After many long hours of hard work and dedication repairing the broken-up track and getting promotional events organized, Perrotte and his team restored Airborne to its former glory. Their work didn’t go unnoticed, either. In 2011, Speedway Illustrated named Airborne Park the Best Short Track in America. That award is framed and hanging up on the wall in Perrotte’s offi ce, not too far from his inspirational tile. “It was a lot of work. Constantly on the phone, traveling around to different tracks, talking to people. It was non-stop,” he says.

In the end, it seems to have paid off. “We’ve done pretty well here. It just requires a lot of work. Good staff, good people, everything. It’s just like any other business. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.”

Beneath the Speedway Illustrated Award sits Nicole Wood, the offi ce manager at Airborne. “She knows more about what’s going on here than anybody,” Perrotte says. “She does a lot of different jobs.”

This is evident, too—while Wood answers questions, she’s also busy typing away at the computer, sending off one of several emails. According to Wood, the restoration of Airborne has done more than just bring a smile to Perrotte’s face. Since the track was revitalized, they have fi ve full-time staff members and another 50 or so seasonal staff members: “Everybody wants to be a part of things around here,” she says.

As committed as he is to the racetrack, there’s still a much larger aspect of Perrotte’s life, one that has kept him not only

busy, but also happy for the past 40 years. “Growing up, racing was always my thing. It still is. Since I was little, I’ve always been fascinated with race cars, as far back as I can remember. Probably since I was four years old.” This sounds like Perrotte, who, in his early teens (and therefore too young to legally be on public roads), used to race his brother through fi elds in a 1958 Ford.

It didn’t take him much longer to have his name in the headlines, if not always for the best of reasons. During his fi rst offi cial oval-track race, which took place at Airborne, the 1955 Chevy driven by a 19-year-old Perrotte didn’t exactly win the race. In fact, it didn’t even fi nish. Coming down the straightaway at Airborne, Perrotte was unlucky enough to experience fi rst-hand what happens when a street car is pushed to its limits. In his particular case, the entire

Life in the

Fast LaneStory and photos by Matthew Cohen

In 1973, at the age of 19,

A36

Email us at [email protected] PAGE 37 NCL Vol. 2 No. 2

front end of the car blew clean off, forcing Perrotte’s early retirement from the race. He would have kept racing, but track offi cials weren’t too keen on the idea. “They didn’t want me at the track anymore. I made a big mess,” he recalls with a laugh.

Being a racer, Perrotte is no stranger to danger, or to speed. What’s the fastest he’s ever driven? Perrotte doesn’t hesitate to answer: “165 mph at a mile track in Pennsylvania. Once you get to 140 mph, things really start happening. It was cool.”

Since Airborne’s track is barely a half-mile long, things are a little different. But that’s not to say the envelope isn’t pushed there as well. “Once you get over 100 mph at Airborne, that’s when it starts getting fun—and we do 110 here.” As much as he enjoys the speed, it’s not the only thing Perrotte loves about racing. “It’s not really the speed so much that thrills me. It’s the competition—trying to conquer something. You have to remember, 80 percent of this is mental. Some days you’re a hero and the next day you’re a zero.”

But for Perrotte, there is a little more than thrills and passion driving his desire to race. “The freedom of doing something you like is why I do it,” Perrotte says. “I’m fortunate because I get to do what I like. Maybe only 10 percent of the people in the country get to do what they like for a living. So I do it because I like it, and I don’t mind working 24-7. If I was working a job doing something I didn’t like, I’d be counting the hours on the clock until I went home. I’ll probably always be involved in some form of motorsport for a living. Defi nitely more of the same.”

Perrotte has another passion as well—working on the cars he races. He doesn’t always have the time, though. “I enjoy working on them as much as I do racing them. When you’re racing 80 or 100 times a year, you don’t have time to do all of the work. You get three guys working on the car, sometimes the night before and the morning of a race. I don’t have people working on the cars that I don’t want working on them. It’s the guys that I trust.” Outside of

“Growing up, racing was

always my thing. It still is.”

Above: As manager of Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburgh, New York, Perrotte works around the clock to promote the track and fuel his love of racing.Left: Perrotte can be seen around the North Country driving his tuned Dodge Magnum, a vehicle he also uses as a pace car during races.

A37


his racing machines, Perrotte has a few toys of his own: a tuned Dodge Magnum with a snarling Hemi under the hood, and a 1956 two door Chevy street rod, sporting a supercharged 350-cubic-inch small block Chevy V8.

As if racing and promoting weren’t enough, Perrotte also has another job—being a father to his two sons, aged 22 and

26. Admittedly, since they’re relatively grown up, it’s a bit easier, but his boys are still very dear to him.

Friendships are important to him, too. One of his more intriguing friendships is the one he shares with “Super” C.D. Coville. Coville was an infamous northeastern racer known for his extremely aggressive driving style, which drew negative attention from his competitors and fans alike. An April 1979 Stock Car Racing magazine article, written by Andy Fusco, describes Coville as a

driver who “darted through holes seemingly narrower than his car. He charged to the front with reckless abandon. And his passes were often accompanied by that tell-tale sign of contact—the shower of sparks.”

Coville defended his driving style, saying “As long as people think I’m crazy, they’ll back off. The more I mess with someone’s mind, the easier I’m gonna beat ‘em. But, I really do have fears every time I sit in the race car. I’m especially afraid of those guys who say they have no fear.”

At first, this “friendship” may not have seemed as such—in fact, the common understanding among the fans was that Perrotte and Coville were rivals. They would race each other in “grudge races”, or one-on-one races between rivals, that were heavily promoted. However, Coville had something else to say about it. “It wasn’t as much of a rivalry as everybody thought it was. We really pumped it up, you know? We were good friends and both of us would do anything for the other. Back in ’88, we used to have grudge races at Airborne and everybody thought we really didn’t get along. They did interviews with me at the track and I badmouthed him and stuff. Really, though, we were the best of friends.”

At the very least, Perrotte is living his own version of the American Dream—by his definition, that means doing what you want to do, no matter the cost. “Yeah, I’ve done what I wanted to do. I mean, I’m not famous. That’s about what it is, you know what I mean? I’m happy. I’ve had fun, and done what I wanted to do most of my life.” While we may not all be racecar drivers or track promoters, it really doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from—there’s at least a couple of things we can learn from Mike Perrotte: hard work eventually does pay off, and the secret to life is simply to be happy.

“Once you get over 100 mph, that’s when it starts getting fun.”

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A39


QandA with Saranac Lake artist

FortuneTim

NCL: I never knew it was possible to do something this incredible with water colors.

TF: Thank you. I never thought I would be doing this, and one day I just got the inkling to do it, so I ordered a whole roll of paper and never looked back.

NCL: Do you do them all from memory? TF: No, no. I take my own reference photographs and work off of

the computer quite a bit. I can really zero in on details. So that’s the starting point.

NCL: Is that how you started your photography —for reference photos?

TF: Mostly, yes, but I do paint outdoors. Photographs never supply the right information, it’s just a starting point. From that point on I change certain aspects that should be changed and kind of subdue others.

NCL: A painting like that is probably hard to capture from a photograph, right? (As I ask this I point to a painting portraying a wetland just before sunset.)

TF: A lot of it is made up or exaggerated just to get it to the point that I am trying to bring it to. It might be a certain feeling of light, a certain energy that is not there in the photograph, and of course the watercolors and oils themselves sometimes have their own mind. It’s

sort of a collaborative thing between you and the medium. NCL: When you’re painting something new in here and you are

surrounded by your other paintings, does that ever affect what you’re working on at the moment?

TF: No, I block everything out. The winter is when I usually do my large pieces because I don’t get as much traffic through the studio. Sometimes in the summer I’ll be painting and having a conversation with someone and never even see their face because I was so intently working.

NCL: Back to your first painting, you said you really loved it. Can you tell me more about it?

TF: It’s of a photograph off the cover of Vermont Life Magazine. It was kind of sepia tone because it was of a sunset, so everything was ambers, golds, and oranges. It was a cross country skier in the distance going across Lake Champlain, and I sold it to the college president for $200 and I thought (laughs), I’m going to be rich! I was a junior in college and $200 was a lot of money in the ‘70s.

NCL: It must have been very exciting! TF: It was $200 and it only took me four hours to paint it because

it was only a couple of colors. Subsequent to that I realized paintings were a little more difficult to do than that one. It’s not that easy. That was a successful painting, but there were mostly failures after that.

Small Fortune Studio opened on July 4, 1994, on Main St. in Saranac Lake, New

York. Located in a former T-shirt shop, the studio and gallery space is now filled with Tim Fortune’s oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and photography. And the best part is, on any given day, visitors can walk in and chat with Fortune as he works on his next piece. North Country Living Magazine caught up with him late last winter. Here’s what he had to say about his artwork.

Story and photos by Katherine Clark

A40

NCL: What’s the time line you work in with your painting, drawing, and photography?

TF: They’re all interconnected; it’s not like a shift in aesthetic thinking. There is a connection. But who knows what tomorrow will bring and what will influence my work. All I know is right now I am happy with what I have.

NCL: Most of your work has been in the Adirondacks. Would you say your work has changed based on where you live?

TF: That’s a good question. Yes, usually artists express their circumstances, and certainly where they live can heavily influence their work.

When we moved back here (from Florida) I had to produce a body of work that would relate. I decided I wanted to put all the education I had in terms of contemporary and impressionist art on the back burner and just relate to nature. It was kind of like a catharsis where I could just relax and paint what I see and not delve too much into the conceptual approaches. So it was more about the experience rather than the idea of making art. My friends in Florida would not recognize my work now.

NCL: So, favorite piece —first thing that pops into your head—which one would you pick?

TF: Right now? The white pine. It’s on our property and it’s because of the way I discovered it and the experience of finding it. I was walking off a trail in the woods, and I walked into the woods about 30 feet or so and I looked to my left. There was an aisle of trees and at the end of the aisle was the most magnificent white pine. I just couldn’t believe how beautiful this tree was. It was an experience that you get when you least expect it. It was a moment of awe. I knew I had to paint it, but it was in the summer and it didn’t look paint-able in my mind. So I went back in the winter when things were more clarified, simplified and beautiful, and I saw its snow covered branches. It was even more majestic, so I took reference photos.

NCL: And that’s your favorite? TF: I’ve done so much I can’t really pick one. The most exciting

painting for me is the next one. I know it sounds trite. Oftentimes when an artist paints and they get toward the end of the painting they are thinking about the next one. So that’s what’s exciting for artists -

—it’s always the next one. Some people say, “Oh, it’s so nice that you paint pretty pictures,”

and I like painting pretty pictures, but it goes beyond that. It becomes a question and process. What am I doing, what’s the connection, why am I doing this? And so what happens as an artist evolves is the artwork starts teaching them about who they are. It’s not usually the other way.

NCL: Have you had any success answering any of those questions?TF: I think a lot of artists do the work, and then the body of work

will reflect them and their deepest thoughts and feelings if they are doing it right. The idea is to just do this stuff and reflect on it later.

I was reading about this belief, I think it’s called theosophy, where the singular is the spiritual. The singular object entity, or object or life-form in the woods, especially when you are alone, is an encounter. It’s much the same feeling one should get when in church. It’s just a feeling I get when I’m in the woods. It’s a spiritual connection.

NCL: What’s next? TF: The way I work is I always have a series going. Right now

I’m doing a water color series. It’s a couple more singular pieces. (He points to his current work, a water color of a singular daffodil in a glass bottle). There is another moment, or human form, across this flower, and again I didn’t think of that when I started doing this. It wasn’t a manipulation, it’s just that reading about other people’s artwork informs me and helps me understand a little bit more about why I do what I do. So I’ll be doing some more companion pieces with the flowers, and in the meantime I’ll keep busy with other pieces and keep this as part of the series, and see where it goes.

Small Fortune Studio is located on 76 Main Street in Saranac Lake. To contact the artist or see more of his work, go to FortuneStudio.com.

A41


Signs adorn the walls of the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce

office, reminding all to remain positive and optimistic.

Matthew Courtright doesn’t need them.

“I try to create a positive atmosphere here and hope it radiates out into the community,” Courtright, the chamber’s executive director, says. “We can talk a lot, say anything. The best thing we can do is lead by example. It’s the best way to create change.”

Smiles are routine for Courtright — and why not? He loves his family, his job and his community.

“It’s all good,” he grinned.It certainly is. Since taking the

helm of the chamber two years ago Courtright has led a transformation. Chamber membership has risen more than 50 percent. An internet presence has been created. Alliances and affiliations have been formed. New programs have taken root. Chamber involvement in community events has exploded.

“I really wanted to give the chamber a new look, a new face when I arrived,” Courtright says. “The chamber has had dedicated volunteers for years, but we needed to make changes to bring us into the 21st Century.”

For Courtright, the best way to do that is to lead by example.“I want the chamber to be an example of what customer service

— community service — should be,” he continued. “I believe our actions need to match our words. We can’t just sit here and answer phones. We need to take action to make Ti and surrounding areas a better place.”

Courtright doesn’t take all the credit, though— he deflects some of that to the energy found in the Ti chamber office.

“Ticonderoga has many, many wonderful volunteers — and, of course, there’s Molly,” Courtright says, referring to Molly Bechard, chamber member services representative. “Molly is a great help.

She’s crucial to everything we do.“I see all the organizations and

committees working so hard to make Ti a success,” he added. “I have to ask how can the chamber, how can I, step up to help. I believe the chamber should be at the center of every project in the community.”

If it happens in Ticonderoga, odds are pretty good the chamber is involved.

“Matt has definitely brought the chamber to the next level,” says Ticonderoga Supervisor Deb Malaney, who once was the chamber’s executive director. “The Ti chamber has gained regional recognition as the go-to organization for the area, and many other towns look to Matt for guidance and ideas. I’m very proud of Matt and Molly’s accomplishments.”

Besides planning the annual North Country Christmas in December and Small Business Saturday in November, the Ti chamber also holds several special events each year, including a fundraising dinner and auction in June, a car show each August, and a volunteer recognition and awards dinner each fall.

Chamber President Pam Nolan credits Courtright with much of the chamber’s recent growth.

“Under Matt’s leadership the TACC has seen unparalleled membership growth and a new level of communication with our members and community partners,” Nolan says. “He has made significant efforts in the areas of business development and support initiatives.”

Nolan pointed out the Ti chamber has never been more active. “Just take a look at the chamber calendar,” she says. “There’s

always something going on. Whether it’s a ribbon cutting for a new business, a business seminar to provide educational opportunities or tools to our local businesses, or one of our monthly After Business Mixers, the TACC has never been busier.”

Besides providing services to members, Courtright believes the chamber should also play a role in economic development.

ContagiousEnthusiasm

Matthew Courtright brings positive energy to the Ti Chamber of Commerce

Ti Chamber director Matthew Courtright Facing page: Courtright’s daughter, Alyssa.

A42

The chamber played a key role in attracting Dunkin’ Donuts and Peebles department store to Ticonderoga in the past year, providing demographic information and doing research for the companies.

“The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is truly one of the most active chambers I have worked with,” says Greg Sagris, owner of Dunkin’ Donuts in Ticonderoga. “They certainly go above and beyond in assisting the local business community. We look forward to continue working closely with the chamber team.”

Courtright’s efforts to improve the community don’t stop with his work at the chamber. His volunteer efforts include the Best Fourth in the North, Ticonderoga’s four-day July 4th celebration, and the Tiny Tim Christmas Wish Program. He’s a member of the Kiwanis and makes himself available to all civic groups.

Courtright also assists the Ticonderoga Main Street Partnership in planning its annual WinterFest and StreetFest events. Both feature downtown activities designed to attract visitors.

“Matt is a real dynamo and his energy is infectious,” says John Bartlett, chairman of the Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership. “Everyone he collaborates with is energized to do more, to find more and new ways to improve our community.

While it might seem like a lot of work to some, it isn’t to Courtright.

“I love my job,” he says. “I love coming to work every day. I feel like I have an opportunity to serve my hometown and make it a better place. Who could ask for more?”

Not Courtright.“Family is my number-one priority,” he says.

“I try to spend as much time with my family as possible, in particular my nephew Connor, as he is going through a difficult time.”

Courtright and his wife, Wendy, have two daughters, Alyssa and Megan. His nephew Connor is a 6-year-old who suffers from B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.

“When I graduated from high school I thought I’d explore the world,” Courtright says. “And I’ve had wonderful opportunities elsewhere, but I’ve decided I want to use my talents to benefit my town. I want to serve the community.”

Being executive director of the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce is rewarding, Courtright says.

“I love seeing the results of all the hard work,” he smiled. “I love seeing the faces of the kids during the Fourth of July parade or when they sit on Santa’s lap. I love seeing local businesses thriving, people walking along the street visiting our businesses and community. I love my work.”

“I think we’ve done a lot of great things the past two years, but there’s still so much to accomplish,” Courtright continued.

For more information on the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce go online at www.ticonderogany.com or “Like” on Facebook or follow TiconderogaADK on twitter.

www.lennyshoe.com

We are Vermont’s favoritelocally owned retailer of

top brand shoes & apparelfor men, women and kids.

2121 Essex Rd, Williston 879-6640295 Swanton Rd, St. Albans 527-0532

359 North Main St, Barre 476-7446

clogs available at:

$10 OFFOne regular price item of $50 or more with this ad

Limit one coupon per customer.No cash value. Expires 7/1/13

-Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel-

33325

CAROL’S COLLECTIBLES

• Cookie Jars • Pottery • Decorations • Glassware • Primitive Items

• Sterling Jewelry • Videos, CDs, DVDs

Multi Dealer Shop 84 Broadway • Route 22

Whitehall, NY(518) 499-0728 • Open Daily 9-5

www.carolscollectibles.biz

New & Used FurnitureGi� s & Antiques

44029

5

G I L L ’ S G I L L ’ S P L A C E P L A C E

ENGINE REPAIR Inboard - Outboard and

Outboard Motors Shore Station Boat Hoist

Boat Storage Dock Installation & Removal

Shoreland’r Trailers

4248

8

1731 Upper Plains Rd. Salisbury, VT 05769

802-352-6603 [email protected]

A. J COHNSON O, LLC

T H E

L U M B E R& F I R E W O O D

B r i s t o l , V T • 8 0 2 - 4 5 3 - 4 8 8 4

w w w . v e r m o n t l u m b e r . c o m

W H O L E S A L E • R E T A I L

42486

A43

of WorshipYour Place

If you are visiting our area, we invite you to visit one of our local church services in

Essex, Clinton & Franklin Counties

Holy Name Catholic ChurchMass: Mon. at 5:15 pm, Wed. at 5 pm, Fri. at 8 am,

Sat. at 4 pm & Sun. at 9:15 am Rt. 9N Main St., AuSable Forks

St. Matthew’s Catholic ChurchMass: Sun. at 11 am Confession Silver Lake Rd., Black Brook

St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic ChurchMass: Sat. at 6 pm, Tues. at 8 am & Sun. at 7:30 am

Rt. 86, Wilmington 43155

Keeseville United

Methodist Church

Harkness United

Methodist Church

1699 Front Street, Keeseville, NYSunday Worship 11:00 a.m.

Keeseville UMC Thrift Shop 834-9918

Every Wed. & 2nd Sat.keesevilleharknessumc.com

intersection of Clintonville and

Hallock Hill RoadSunday Worship

9:30 am

PASTOR Edie Poland • 834-7577 43153

207 Station St., Lake Placid, NY 12946www.newhopelakeplacid.com

Bishop Richard Ducatt • 891-4255 • 523-3652

New Hope ChurchFull Gospel Church

ServicesSun. 10am & 6:30pm

Tues. 6:30pm Corporate Prayer • Thurs. 6:30pm Bible Study

43151

St. Agnes Catholic Church in Lake Placid518-523-2200 • www.stagneslakeplacid.com

Daily Mass year round at 7:30am Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri.,and at 5:30pm on Tuesday. Uihlein Mercy Center: Sunday at 10:15am;

Daily Mass Monday-Saturday at noon. Rev. John R. Yonkovig

St. Brendan’s Catholic Church in Keene518-523-2200 • www.stagneslakeplacid.com

For Holy Days of Obligation Mass times and Confessions please visit our website.Rev. John R. Yonkovig

43195

CHURCH OF THE

ASSUMPTION 826 Rte. 86,

Gabriels 891-4616

Mass: Sunday 9:30 AM

Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. BERNARD’S CHURCH

27 St. Bernard St., Saranac Lake

891-4616

MASSES : Sat. 5 PM, Sun. 7 & 10 AM

Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS

6148 Route 30 Lake Clear, NY

Sunday Mass* - 8:00 AM (July & August celebrated at

Fish Creek Campsite)

Rectory - 891-2286 Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH

1640 Rte. 3 Bloomingdale

891-0144 MASS:

Saturday 4:00 PM Fr. Mark Reilly

43163

St. Elizabeth’s Church

St. philip Neri

8434 NYS Rt. 9Elizabethtown, NY

Sat. 4:30 PM - Sun. 10:30 AM

6603 Main St., WestportSunday Mass 8:30 AM

Fr. Francis Flynn 873-6760

43156

Plattsburgh United Methodist Church at the corner of Beekman & Bailey

“Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”

Sundays At 8 AM & 10:30 AM / Church School After 10:30 Childrens Time Oct.-June Marion M. Moore-Colgan, Pastor • www.plattsburghumc.org

Whoever you are, you’re welcome here!

563-2992

43165

St. Johns Episcopal ChurchP.O. Box 262, 4 Church Street • Essex, NY 12936

Church # 963-7775 • stjohnsessexny.comMargaret E. Shaw

WORSHIP SERVICE: Sunday 9:15 AMMon. 9 AM Centering Prayer

Wed. 9 AM Morning Prayer, 10 AM Bible StudyTues. 9:30AM Contemporary Bible Discussion,

6 PM Community Pot Luck SupperWed. 5PM Book Discussion 43157

60 West Church St., West Chazy, NYSaturday Vigil Mass: 4 pm

Sunday Masses: 8 am & 10 amConfessions:

Saturday 3 pm - 3:30 pm & by appointmentWeekday Masses are at 9 am except on Holy Days and during Lent & Advent

( please consult the bulletin) 43150

ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH

26 Church Rd., Cadyville, NY518-293-7026

You are welcome to join us for services...Saturday Vigil: 4pm

Sunday Masses: 8am & 10amDaily Mass Mon.-Fri. 8:30am

43194

ST. JAME’S CHURCH

Independent Baptist Church

2030 Rte. 22, Keeseville, NY 834-9620 • www.ibck.org • [email protected]

Pastor Russ O’Neill Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 a.m. Sun. Youth Group . . . . . . . . . . 6:00-8:00 p.m. Sun. Evening Worship . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting . . . . 7:00 p.m.

43191

of WorshipYour Place

If you are visiting our area, we invite you to visit one of our local church services in

Essex, Clinton & Franklin Counties

Holy Name Catholic ChurchMass: Mon. at 5:15 pm, Wed. at 5 pm, Fri. at 8 am,

Sat. at 4 pm & Sun. at 9:15 am Rt. 9N Main St., AuSable Forks

St. Matthew’s Catholic ChurchMass: Sun. at 11 am Confession Silver Lake Rd., Black Brook

St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic ChurchMass: Sat. at 6 pm, Tues. at 8 am & Sun. at 7:30 am

Rt. 86, Wilmington 43155

Keeseville United

Methodist Church

Harkness United

Methodist Church

1699 Front Street, Keeseville, NYSunday Worship 11:00 a.m.

Keeseville UMC Thrift Shop 834-9918

Every Wed. & 2nd Sat.keesevilleharknessumc.com

intersection of Clintonville and

Hallock Hill RoadSunday Worship

9:30 am

PASTOR Edie Poland • 834-7577 43153

207 Station St., Lake Placid, NY 12946www.newhopelakeplacid.com

Bishop Richard Ducatt • 891-4255 • 523-3652

New Hope ChurchFull Gospel Church

ServicesSun. 10am & 6:30pm

Tues. 6:30pm Corporate Prayer • Thurs. 6:30pm Bible Study

43151

St. Agnes Catholic Church in Lake Placid518-523-2200 • www.stagneslakeplacid.com

Daily Mass year round at 7:30am Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri.,and at 5:30pm on Tuesday. Uihlein Mercy Center: Sunday at 10:15am;

Daily Mass Monday-Saturday at noon. Rev. John R. Yonkovig

St. Brendan’s Catholic Church in Keene518-523-2200 • www.stagneslakeplacid.com

For Holy Days of Obligation Mass times and Confessions please visit our website.Rev. John R. Yonkovig

43195

CHURCH OF THE

ASSUMPTION 826 Rte. 86,

Gabriels 891-4616

Mass: Sunday 9:30 AM

Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. BERNARD’S CHURCH

27 St. Bernard St., Saranac Lake

891-4616

MASSES : Sat. 5 PM, Sun. 7 & 10 AM

Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS

6148 Route 30 Lake Clear, NY

Sunday Mass* - 8:00 AM (July & August celebrated at

Fish Creek Campsite)

Rectory - 891-2286 Fr. Mark Reilly

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH

1640 Rte. 3 Bloomingdale

891-0144 MASS:

Saturday 4:00 PM Fr. Mark Reilly

43163

St. Elizabeth’s Church

St. philip Neri

8434 NYS Rt. 9Elizabethtown, NY

Sat. 4:30 PM - Sun. 10:30 AM

6603 Main St., WestportSunday Mass 8:30 AM

Fr. Francis Flynn 873-6760

43156

Plattsburgh United Methodist Church at the corner of Beekman & Bailey

“Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”

Sundays At 8 AM & 10:30 AM / Church School After 10:30 Childrens Time Oct.-June Marion M. Moore-Colgan, Pastor • www.plattsburghumc.org

Whoever you are, you’re welcome here!

563-2992

43165

St. Johns Episcopal ChurchP.O. Box 262, 4 Church Street • Essex, NY 12936

Church # 963-7775 • stjohnsessexny.comMargaret E. Shaw

WORSHIP SERVICE: Sunday 9:15 AMMon. 9 AM Centering Prayer

Wed. 9 AM Morning Prayer, 10 AM Bible StudyTues. 9:30AM Contemporary Bible Discussion,

6 PM Community Pot Luck SupperWed. 5PM Book Discussion 43157

60 West Church St., West Chazy, NYSaturday Vigil Mass: 4 pm

Sunday Masses: 8 am & 10 amConfessions:

Saturday 3 pm - 3:30 pm & by appointmentWeekday Masses are at 9 am except on Holy Days and during Lent & Advent

( please consult the bulletin) 43150

ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH

26 Church Rd., Cadyville, NY518-293-7026

You are welcome to join us for services...Saturday Vigil: 4pm

Sunday Masses: 8am & 10amDaily Mass Mon.-Fri. 8:30am

43194

ST. JAME’S CHURCH

Independent Baptist Church

2030 Rte. 22, Keeseville, NY 834-9620 • www.ibck.org • [email protected]

Pastor Russ O’Neill Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 a.m. Sun. Youth Group . . . . . . . . . . 6:00-8:00 p.m. Sun. Evening Worship . . . . . . . . . . . 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting . . . . 7:00 p.m.

43191

A44

49020

7552 Court Street • Elizabethtown, NY

Licensed CaterersServing Lunch, Pub Fare, and Dinnerin a Casual Historical Atmosphere.

To view our full menu,visit our website:

www.thedeershead.com

For reservations or take-out,call 518-873-6514

WHERE CAN YOU TAKE A JOURNEY WITHOUT LEAVING THE STATION!

2013: OUR 35 TH SEASON!

ROUTE 66 by Jerold Goldstein, William Squier & Fred Stark

June 28 - July 14 Celebrating the beauty of the small towns of America, with this world premiere musical!

BOEING-BOEING by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Beverley Cross

July 19 - August 14 A seductively silly farce for those who love the Mad Men era!

FUNKED UP FAIRY TALES by Kristen Childs

August 9 - August 25 World premiere musical with lots of street-

smart attitude and wise-cracking fun - sure to appeal to kids of all ages!

LOMBARDI by Eric Simonson

August 30 - September 15 The untold story of the legendary football icon that speaks to anyone

who has pushed themselves further than they knew possible!

An air-conditioned theatre in an historic train station! Subscriptions & single tickets are available for purchase online!

Dates & times are subject to change. Not all material appropriate for all ages 6705 MAIN STREET, WESTPORT, NY 12933

BOX OFFICE: 518-962-4449 WWW.DEPOTTHEATRE.ORG49009

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All Sizes & Comfort Levels • Headboards • Frames Memory Foam • Latex • Adjustable Beds

• Superior Pressure Relief • Targeted Support Where You

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23 Weed Street • 518-566-9950 Near Georgia Pacific - Exit 38 South, left on Boynton Ave., cross railroad tracks, right on Weed St.

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5 • Sun by appt.

Many models in stock for fast delivery!

Twin Mattresses from $149 Full Mattresses from $179 20 Sets for $599 or Less!

Sleep Cooler with Serta’s Revolutionary iComfort Cool Action Memory Foam

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• House plans• Building advice• Photo gallery• Specials and more!

www.plattsburghhousing.comCHECK OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UPDATES

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Boilers and Furnaces Pellets in stock!

228 NORTHSIDE DR. • BENNINGTON, VT 228 NORTHSIDE DR. • BENNINGTON, VT N. MAIN ST. • LONDONDERRY, VT N. MAIN ST. • LONDONDERRY, VT 2479 RTE.7 • FERRISBURGH, VT 2479 RTE.7 • FERRISBURGH, VT

5598 RTE. 7 • NORTH CLARENDON, VT 5598 RTE. 7 • NORTH CLARENDON, VT

A45

35

DICK’S COUNTRY STORE& MUSIC OASIS

7429 US Rte 11 • Churubusco, NY• Largest Selection of New & Used Musical

Equipment in the North Country• Over 800 Guitars in Stock

PLUS Amplifi ers, Drum Sets, Keyboards, and Accessories

OPEN: Mon.-� urs. 9AM-6PM • Friday 9AM-8PM Saturday 9AM-6PM • Sunday 10AM-3PM

www.themusicoasis.com • 518-497-6962 4318

1

Division of Amoskeag Woodworking, Inc. 3254

7

• HARDWOOD LUMBER • MOULDING/TRIM/CUST OM MILL WORK

• FLOORING ~ PRECISION MILLED & PRE-FINISHED•PREFAB STAIRS & STAIR PARTS

www.morsehardwoods.comYOUR COMPLETE W OODWORKING SOU RCE

Manufacturer of Quality Hardwoodsat FACTORY DIRECT Pricing

30 Elm Court, Colchester, VT802-878-2061

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518-946-2262 • 800-571-2863 • Fax 518-946-7536

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2644

9

32558

A46

“Natural is Beautiful”

(P) 518.499.9090 • (F) [email protected] • www.chippewastone.com

Corner of State Route 4 and Ryder Road, Whitehall, NY 12887

• Chippewa Granite • North Ledge Granite• Blue Indigo Granite• Adirondack Quartzite

• PREMIUM THIN VENEER • ASHLAR • IRREGULAR SQUARED

& IRREGULAR RECTANGULAR • MOSAIC VENEER • WALL STONE • SMALL WALL

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44004

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INSURING YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORSHOMEXAUTOXBUSINESSXFARM

At Co-op, we’re member owned and member committed.Since 1915 we’ve been providing protection for individuals, farms

and businesses with a large network of local agents inVermont and New Hampshire, fast and fair claims service,

expert loss prevention and a�ordable rates.At the Co-op, you’re not just a number.

To nd your local agent with a Vermont product who supports yourcommunity, local businesses, and farmers call

(800) 639-4017 or visit www.co-opinsurance.com

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4003

4 Happy Hour: Daily

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518-561-3091 www.geoffreyspub.com

49347

Tuesday Night Trivia!

Wednesday Fish & Chips

Full Service Bar with the Area’s Finest Draught Selection

Each Season Is Special Keep Us In Mind

Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

Honey ~ Apple Wood

We Ship Apple

Gift Packs Year

Round

Christmas Trees

Asparagus

Berries

Corn

p

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Pumpkins

We make 100% Pure Beeswax

Candles

Farmstand Open June - December

470 Union Road, Peru, NY 12972

643-9806 June - Dec.

643-9718 Jan. - MayCall

40680

A47

Now Taking YourCUSTOM TIMBER ORDERS!

If cost and quality are a consideration... we’re worth the trip!

107 Lower Cemetery Road in Langdon, NH 03602603-835-2424 / 603-835-6222 fax

[email protected] • www.greatbrookforestproducts.com

OUR PRODUCT LINE FEATURES:• Custom Sawing Timbers up to 38’ Long• Timber Planing up to 10” x 18”• Re-sawing salvage timbers• Timber sizing

• 1x and 2x air-dried lumber• Shiplap & tongue & groove profi ling• Air-dried boards & dimensions

40031

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427 Route 4A Bomoseen, VT802-468-5676800-468-5675

Your Home Team Since 1957

KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN CENTER • WINDOWS & DOORS • FLOORING

gilmorehomecenter.com • Like: facebook.com/GilmoreHC 4007

4

4933

7

Three Convenient LocationsOn Site Surgery Center

Refractive SurgeryRetina Services

Cataract Surgery

Welcome to Eye Carefor the AdirondacksThe leading eye facility in Northern New York-Champlain Valley area. Providing state of the art comprehensive and surgicaleye care for over 30 years.

www.eyecareadk.com

Malone Offi ce and Optical Shop14861 State Route 30 • Malone, NY 12953 • 518-483-0065

Saranac Lake Offi ce and Optical Shop51 Woodruff St. • Saranac Lake, NY 12983 • 518-891-8412

Eye Care for the Adirondacks450 Margaret St. • Plattsburgh, NY 12901 518-566-2020 • 800-272-1003

49339

A48

40045

Serving the Champlain Valley for Over 80 Years

Weybridge, Vermont

“Producing as Pure a Product as Possible”

4003

0

Your Full Service, Independent Community Pharmacy

Serving Addison County since 1988

3 LOCATIONS TO SERVE ALL YOUR PRESCRIPTION NEEDS!In Bristol: at 61 Pine Street • Tel#: 802-453-2999 • Fax# 802-453-4006

Convenient Drive-Through! Mon.-Fri. 8 AM-6 PM, Sat. 8 AM-1 PM, Closed Sundays

In Middlebury: at The Marble Works, 99 Maple Street • Tel#: 802-388-3784 • Fax# 802-388-1720Mon.-Fri. 8 AM-6 PM, Sat. 8 AM-5 PM, Sun. 9 AM-2 PM

In Vergennes: at 187 Main Street • Tel#: 802-877-1190 • Fax# 802-877-1197Mon.-Fri. 8 AM-6 PM, Sat. 8 AM-3 PM, Sun. 9 AM-Noon

Free Delivery, Immunizations, Compounding Pharmacy and a great selection of gifts, cards and OTC items. See for yourself why our customers are so loyal!

www.marbleworkspharmacy.com

Vermont owned and operated by Pharmacy Health Services, Inc.

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SHELBURNE FARMS is a 1,400-

acre farm, education center, and

National Historic Landmark.

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Shelburne Farms

3335

6 32552

A49


It starts with a single stitch, and then it’s hard to let go. It could be the feel of the fabric that’s so appealing, or perhaps it’s the way

the colors blend, or contrast, with one another. Either way, the pieces come together, stitch-by-stitch, and as quickly as the quilt is sent off a new one is started.

The 76 members of the Franklin County Quilter’s Guild are quick to admit they have an addiction to quilting, but they’re putting it to good use. Since the guild was founded on Feb. 6, 1991, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of quilts have been donated to groups, charities, and non-profi ts throughout the North Country, where they are usually sold or raffl ed off to raise money. And the money raised is no small amount, either. Guild President Ann Goergen-Jacobs says some of them have gone for as much as $3,500.

Every week, guild members pack a room on the Northwestern Medical Center’s campus in St. Albans, Vermont. and begin assembling quilts. There are about a dozen members who meet regularly, but anyone who is part of the guild is welcome.

Like everyone in the guild, Joanne Sweet, chairperson for the breast cancer quilts, begins by cutting pieces of fabric with a tool that resembles a pizza cutter (photo 1). Next, different strips of fabric are stitched together, as Goergen-Jacobs demonstrates (photo 2). The technique allows for an endless amount of pattern possibilities as the pieces come together in the fi nished product (photo 3).

The members of the Franklin County Quilter’s Guild enjoy putting the quilts together—their camaraderie as they work together is genuine and the sound of laughter is non-stop—but quilting is more than just a hobby.

“This quilt is for a friend of mine with breast cancer,” Sweet says as she irons the wrinkles out of a brightly colored strip of fabric. “We’re also donating a quilt to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a camp for kids with cancer.” The Camp Ta-Kum-Ta quilt (photo 4) will be raffl ed off by the camp to help them raise money.

The guild is also quick to respond to emergencies. “When hurricane Sandy hit, we found out a lady we knew was going down there (to New Jersey), so we fi lled her car with quilts for people who lost everything,” Goergen-Jacobs says.

They don’t just help people, though. With all the trimming and sewing the guild does, there are plenty of scraps left over. Not wanting anything to go to waste, those random strips of cotton are donated to local animal shelters, who use it as bedding for the animals.

But for all the help they do for others, there was one small detail Goergen-Jacobs wanted to make clear: “Even though we don’t have any male members at this time, the guild is open to men. Tell them they should come with their wives and try it—they might like it!”

For more information on the Franklin County Quilter’s Guild, visit FranklinCountyQuilters.org

Story and photos by Shaun Kittle

GIVING BACK | Franklin County Quilter’s Guild

Inside theFranklin CountyQuilter’s Guild, Vt.

for a cause1

2

3

4

A50

Armond’s Place

297-3433

Your Hometown Tavern

102 Lake St., Rouses Point

49142

• Located along the beautiful shores of Lake Champlain• Wide selection of on-site roasted coffees• Specialty coffees, teas, wraps & paninis• Baked goods

Tuesday-Friday 7am to 4pm • Weekends 8am-2pm

49145

Dealer # 3100058

Route 9 • Chazy, NYVisit Us At:

www.rileyfordinc.com

Only Minutes from Ellenburg & Plattsburgh!49141

Borderview Grocery &

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6am-10pm; Sat. 7am-10pm; Sun. 8am-10pm2018 Ridge Rd., Champlain, NY 12919 • 298-3050 • 298- SUBS

Daily Lunch Specials ~ Tender Fried ChickenA.R. SANDRI

Redeem Your Price Chopper

Points

49146

60 West Church St., West Chazy, NY 12992Phone: 518-493-4521 • Fax: 518-493-5880

Pastor: Father J. Roger McGuinness

St. Joseph’s � urch

Masses: Saturday: Vigil Mass 4pm • Sunday: Masses 8am & 10am

Weekday: 9am • Confession: Saturday 3-3:30pm & by appt.



660 WWWesesesse tttttt CCCCChChChChuurchchhh SSSSSStttt.., WWest Chazy, NY 12992


WeWeekekdadayyyy:: 9a9amm • CoConfnfesessisionon:: SaSatuturdrdayayyy 3 3-33:3:30p0pppmm && bybyyy a apppppppptt.

49154

CONVENIENCESTORE

Soft Serve Ice Cream & SundaesSubs/Sandwiches/Meats

Mon. - Sat. 5:30 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

(518) 236-97772568 Route 11, Mooers, NY 12958

Pay At The PumpA.R. Sandri Distributing

49138

Route 11, Champlain, NY(518) 298-3011

49140

Dragoon’s Farm Equipment Inc.

49139

“We Service What We Sell”

Phone: 518-236-71002507 State Route 11, Mooers, NY

www.dragoonsfarmequipment.com

WELCOME TO THE NORTHERN TIERMooers • Champlain • Chazy • Rouses Point

Armond’s Place

297-3433

Your Hometown Tavern

102 Lake St., Rouses Point

49142

• Located along the beautiful shores of Lake Champlain• Wide selection of on-site roasted coffees• Specialty coffees, teas, wraps & paninis• Baked goods

Tuesday-Friday 7am to 4pm • Weekends 8am-2pm

49145

Dealer # 3100058

Route 9 • Chazy, NYVisit Us At:

www.rileyfordinc.com

Only Minutes from Ellenburg & Plattsburgh!49141

Borderview Grocery &

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6am-10pm; Sat. 7am-10pm; Sun. 8am-10pm2018 Ridge Rd., Champlain, NY 12919 • 298-3050 • 298- SUBS

Daily Lunch Specials ~ Tender Fried ChickenA.R. SANDRI

Redeem Your Price Chopper

Points

49146



St. Joseph’s � urch


Weekday: 9am • Confession: Saturday 3-3:30pm & by appt.



660 WWWesesesse tttttt CCCCChChChChuurchchhh SSSSSStttt.., WWest Chazy, NY 12992


WeWeekekdadayyyy:: 9a9amm • CoConfnfesessisionon:: SaSatuturdrdayayyy 3 3-33:3:30p0pppmm && bybyyy a apppppppptt.

49154

CONVENIENCESTORE

Soft Serve Ice Cream & SundaesSubs/Sandwiches/Meats

Mon. - Sat. 5:30 am - 9:00 pm, Sun. 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

(518) 236-97772568 Route 11, Mooers, NY 12958

Pay At The PumpA.R. Sandri Distributing

49138

Route 11, Champlain, NY(518) 298-3011

49140

Dragoon’s Farm Equipment Inc.

49139

“We Service What We Sell”

Phone: 518-236-71002507 State Route 11, Mooers, NY

www.dragoonsfarmequipment.com

WELCOME TO THE NORTHERN TIERMooers • Champlain • Chazy • Rouses Point

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G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H G A N I E N K E H WHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTERWHOLISTIC TREATMENT CENTER

518-493-2247 • Devil’s Den Road via Altona, NY

MINIBINGO

518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 • 518-493-2247 •

Wednesday & Friday doors open at 5pm • Games start at 6:30pmSun. doors open at 10am & Games start at Noon.

ADMISSION9 FACE CARDS $5.002 SPECIAL BOOKS $5.0010 70/30 GAMES $8.00

An Alternative Health Care Center

SUPER JACKPOT$1,000/Full Cards

CHIROPRACTIC - DR. PETER VANCE, D.C.MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS & FRIDAYSOver 30 years experience - specializing in headaches, sciatic, chronic pain, worker’s comp & personal auto injuries.

NATUROPATHIC - DR. DEBRA DAHLER, N.D.MONDAYS THROUGH THURSDAYSOffering holistic health care options for most health concerns. Herbalism, nutrition & lifestyle counseling.

3083 Rand Hill Road • PO Box 275 • Altona, NY • 518-493-6300

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