Episodes
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
What's In a Name? Stories about Vermont Places and Names
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
Steve Farrow grew up in Holland, Vermont and now lives in Newport in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Steve studied at UVM in the 1980s and his master’s thesis focused on Vermont place names. He now teacher geography at Community College of Vermont.
In this Happy Vermont podcast episode, Steve and host Erica Houskeeper talk about Vermont place names and lost names like Elysiana, Hurricane and Jefferson County. They also explore Vermont gores and grants, as well as town names like Eden, Troy and Athens.
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Vermont Foliage, Forests and Tourist Towns
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Mike Snyder of Stowe was Vermont’s Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation for over a decade before leaving his post in December 2022.
He’s now working as an independent consultant. Mike and host Erica Houskeeper met up at Brownsville Forest in Stowe to talk about fall foliage, forest health, and what it's like living in a popular tourist town.
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Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Burlington's History is Hiding in Plain Sight
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Glenn Fay of Burlington is an author, historian and seventh-generation Vermonter. He’s also a descendant of one of the Green Mountain Boys.
Glenn wrote Hidden History of Burlington Vermont and has a new book out, Ambition of the Remarkable Family of Ethan Allen. On a sunny day in July, we met at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington, where Glenn serves as a board member.
In this episode, Glenn shares how Ethan Allen is famous for capturing Fort Ticonderoga from the British and was also a complicated figure. We also talk about Burlington’s history, old neighborhoods, and the city's waterfront, which was once a bustling lumber port.
https://ethanallenhomestead.org
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Art in the Heart of Montgomery
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Traveling east on Route 118 along the Trout River is a nostalgic scene with covered bridges, barns and mountain views. After a few bends in the road, a clear view of the Montgomery Center for the Arts unfolds.
The Greek Revival building was empty the first time Sebastian Araujo saw it when he and his partner moved to town from Provincetown, Mass. The iconic building, perched at the intersection of Main Street and Mountain Road, is a former Baptist Church built in 1866.
“These buildings deserve to be restored. They deserve to be cherished. They deserve to be protected,” says Araujo, founding director of the Montgomery Center for the Arts. “And it's really important, because if we don't know where we come from, we don't know who we are in the present.”
Since opening six years ago, the Montgomery Center for the Arts has hosted art exhibits, performances, workshops and meditation sessions. Araujo and others have tirelessly volunteered to help repair and preserve the building, organize events and get the word out.
https://www.montgomerycenterforthearts.com
https://www.patreon.com/happyvermontpodcast
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Art and Whimsy at the Sparkle Barn in Wallingford
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Artist and entrepreneur Stacy Harshman was living in New York and looking for a change. She Googled "nature, therapy, community, work and mountains" and landed in Vermont.
Seven years ago, she started the Sparkle Barn in Wallingford, which has become a wildly popular destination in this small town in Rutland County. The Sparkle Barn is a gift shop and art installation located in an old dairy barn on Route 7.
In this episode of Happy Vermont, Stacy shares how she created this special place and how she’s found healing, happiness and belonging in Vermont.
Thursday Jun 06, 2024
A Place Called Adamant
Thursday Jun 06, 2024
Thursday Jun 06, 2024
Adamant is an unincorporated Vermont village between Calais and East Montpelier. Its geographical boundaries are hard to define.
In this episode of Happy Vermont, Erica Houskeeper talks with three women about Adamant's history, the local co-op that's a community hub, and how Adamant is a state of mind.
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Pieces of History on Mount Philo
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Mount Philo in Charlotte stands at 968 feet. It offers some of the most beautiful views, plus hiking trails, an auto road and campsites. It became Vermont’s first state park 100 years ago in 1924.
Judy Chaves is the author of Secrets of Mount Philo: A Guide to the History of Vermont's First State Park. In this episode, we talk about Mount Philo's significance, its history and why people love this small Vermont mountain.
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
An Outdoor Recreation Renaissance in Poultney
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Outdoor recreation is breathing new life into Poultney, which is home to Lake St. Catherine, the Poultney River, the Delaware and Hudson Rail Trail and Slate Valley Trails.
James Johnson lives off the grid in a yurt on land once owned by his grandmother. He's also the founder of the Fifth Season Race and Ride, a quirky mud season ride where participants ride around to local sugarhouses.
In this episode of Happy Vermont, James Johnson and other locals talk about life in Poultney, exploring the outdoors in Poultney, and why they call this tight-knit community home.
Read more: https://happyvermont.com/2024/04/09/outdoor-recreation-renaissance-in-poultney/
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Backyard Rope Tows in Vermont
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Pete and Sandy Gebbie are farmers and skiers. They have three rope tows on their 400-acre property, which sits at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. When the snow is good, friends come over to ski.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the first rope tow, which opened in Woodstock in January 1934.
In this episode, Pete and Sandy talk to host Erica Houskeeper about running a rope tow and what the tradition of rope tow skiing means to Vermonters.
Friday Feb 09, 2024
The Early Days of Skiing at Stowe and the Remains of a Plane on Camel's Hump
Friday Feb 09, 2024
Friday Feb 09, 2024
Vermont’s skiing had a big year in 1934. Ninety years ago, the first rope tow opened in Woodstock. It’s also when the Stowe Ski Patrol got its start, when the Civilian Conservation Corps were busy building trails in Vermont, and when the first purpose cut ski trail was completed on Mount Mansfield.
Brian Lindner of Waterbury is a historian, ski patroller, and outdoor enthusiast. While hiking on Camel's Hump when he was a boy in the 1960s, he stumbled upon World War II plane wreckage, which sparked his lifelong interest in local history.
In this episode, Brian talks with host Erica Houskeeper about the story of the plane that crashed into Camel's Hump, the early days of Stowe Mountain Resort, and the spot along Interstate 89 that goes over the top of the engine room of an old rope tow.