Section B - The Vermont Standard

Page Two-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Thursday October 9 2008
Billings Farm & Dairy
In The 20th Century
Billings Descendant Brings A Rockefeller Into The Fold
W
ith help from George Aitken and others, Julia
Billings carried on Frederick’s work for many
years after his death. After her death in 1914, the
children of Frederick and Julia Billings, maintained the estate
in the tradition of stewardship that they had inherited from
their parents. Mary Montagu Billings French and her sister
Elizabeth Billings carried on the farm and the forest. During
the Great Depression, the Windsor County Fair fell on hard
times and its commissioners finally sold the fairgrounds
to Billings Farm. By that time, the farm itself had been
much reduced from its former glory. In 1936, the herd was
dispersed, leaving just a handful of purebred Jerseys on the
farm. During the Second World War, a large part of the fertile
acreage of the Ottauquechee meadow became forty plots of
Victory Gardens for Woodstock residents.
In 1943, in the midst of the war years, Mary French and
Elizabeth Billings made a bold move that would ensure the
future of Billings Farm. They pooled their resources and hired
Harold Corkum, a professional manager, with a plan to rebuild
the farm as a modern dairy operation. With new barns, milkhandling facilities, and a reestablished herd, Billings Farm
joined the post-war boom with a fleet of milk trucks and local
delivery throughout the Woodstock area. In 1954 the Billings
Dairy was incorporated. It later merged with Woodstock’s
Starlake Dairy and built a new bottling plant in Wilder,
Vermont. Through the 1970s, Billings was well known as
a local producer of outstanding dairy products, including a
holiday egg nog that many said could not be beat.
Mary and Laurance Rockefellers’ Billings
Farm and the Farm & Museum
THE CONGREGATIONAL Church
in Woodstock was the scene in 1934
of the marriage of Mary French and
Laurance Rockefeller. Mary had deep
roots in Woodstock and Laurance
would soon make it his own special
home. Laurance and Mary Rockefeller,
above, pose with their descendants.
Lady Bird Johnson, below, was a
special friend of Laurance Rockefeller
and traveled to Woodstock for visits.
(Photos Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
In 1934, Mary French, a granddaughter of Frederick
Billings, and Laurance Rockefeller were married in the old
white Congregational Church in Woodstock. Mary had
grown up spending summers in Woodstock, living in the
mansion, and roaming the Mount Tom forest on her pony.
With their marriage, Laurance adopted Woodstock as his
summer home, and as the years passed his affection for the
Vermont town grew. Woodstock became one of his important
conservation interests, and in many respects, Laurance
Rockefeller’s activities in Woodstock became a microcosm of
his conservation career.
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Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Page Three-B
Billings Farm & Dairy
In The 20th Century
Thursday October 9 2008
Rockefeller Makes An Impact On His Adopted Hometown
A
fter Mary French Rockefeller’s mother, Mary
Montagu Billings French, died in 1951, Mary
Rockefeller came to own the mansion and its forested
surroundings. Through the 1950s, Mary and Laurance
Rockefeller remodeled the house, grounds, and outbuildings,
creating a more livable space while respecting its Victorian
detail and furnishings as an expression of their sense of the
house’s heritage. This was affirmed in June of 1967, when
Lady Bird Johnson visited Woodstock to dedicate the mansion
as a National Historic Landmark.
Laurance
Rockefeller said
Laurance
that his interest in
Rockefeller firmly
Woodstock flowed
simply from the
believed that
fact that it was
landscape and
Mary’s home – his
townscape must be active participation
the shaping of
considered together in
Woodstock’s future
– that one could not grew as a natural
consequence of their
be preserved
shared interests
without the other.
and their love of
the outdoors. He
saw the dangers that unwise development could pose for
Woodstock, and drawing upon his experience in conservation
and preservation elsewhere, he worked to guide the town in
environmentally sound directions. He firmly believed that
landscape and townscape must be considered together – that
one could not be preserved without the other.
With this philosophy in mind, he purchased and replaced
the aging Woodstock Inn, greatly improving the country club
and ski areas and making the Woodstock Resort Corporation
a mainstay of the economic health of the community, while
helping to preserve the ambiance of the small New England
town. In one of Laurance’s greatest gifts to the community,
he funded the underground routing of electrical and telephone
wires throughout the village, greatly enhancing Woodstock’s
historical and aesthetic appearance. At the same time, he
protected the village by acquiring many acres of open space to
assure their preservation.
(Photos Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
IN THE YEARS following World War II, Billings Farm began a return to its former glory. Events
like the Vermont Jersey Parish Show in 1949 once again made the farm a focal point for Vermont
agriculture.
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Page Four-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Billings Farm & Dairy
In The 20th Century
Thursday October 9 2008
A Farming Heritage Is Protected In Perpetuity
L
aurance Rockefeller’s activities in Woodstock put into
practice the conservation agenda that he had helped the
nation embrace, combined with his personal affection for
the community, its history, and the heritage of Mary’s family.
In 1974 he purchased the farm from the Billings Dairy.
In 1968 Mary and Laurance Rockefeller had created the
Woodstock Foundation, Inc., as a philanthropic vehicle for
furthering the betterment of Woodstock. Laurance later
described the foundation’s objectives as follows:
Through the Woodstock Foundation, it is my hope, in the
broadest sense, to help preserve the environment and historical
integrity of Woodstock, and more specifically the Billings
Family heritage that has been so important to the community
for more than 100 years.
The foundation’s activities were intended to “add to the
balance of Woodstock
In 1968 Mary and
and have a beneficial
Laurance Rockefeller
effect on the longterm economic
had created the
Woodstock Foundation, vitality and stability
of the community.”
Inc., as a philanthropic Primary objectives
vehicle for furthering
would include the
preservation of
the betterment of
open space, the
Woodstock.
preservation of the
historical values
of rural Vermont, the expansion of the outdoor recreational
opportunities that are inherent in the natural beauty of the
Woodstock area, the encouragement of the best practices of
forest management, and the creation of broad educational
values of benefit to Vermonters as well as visitors to the area.
In 1972 the Woodstock Foundation launched the Vermont
Folklife Project with a mission of collecting, studying, and
preserving the rapidly vanishing remnants of traditional
farm life in the region of East Central Vermont. This vision
resonated with Laurance Rockefeller’s perception of the
special human values of traditional Vermont culture – values
that included a self-reliant work ethic, a close human
relationship with the land, and a farm family-based sense of
husbandry.
Congratulations
on 25 Great Years!
G
THROUGHOUT its long history, the Billings
Farm has always employed state-of-theart farming techniques, far left (ca. 1948).
Above, a 1950 vantage shows how the
farm has always been a scenic centerpiece
of the
Ottauquechee
Valley. Left,
advertisement
shows the
farm’s awardwinning pigs
and sheep.
The panoramic
view.
(Photos Courtesy Billings
Farm and Museum)
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Selections from FROSTIANA
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read by Norwood Long
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Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Page Five-B
Billings Farm & Dairy
In The 20th Century
Thursday October 9 2008
A Treasured Farm Becomes A Cherished Museum
W
ith the 1974 re-acquisition of the farm, the folklife
project became the precursor of a new farm
museum that would interpret rural Vermont farm
culture around 1890 as well as the Billings Farm itself.
In the 1970s and 1980s, under the leadership of farm
manager Bob Lord, Billings Farm regained it national
preeminence as a championship breeder of Jersey dairy cows.
At the same time, between 1980 and 1983 the upper group
of farm buildings were adapted as exhibition galleries for the
Billings Farm & Museum. In June 1983 Mary and Laurance
Rockefeller formally opened the Billings Farm & Museum.
A quarter century later, and after more than a million visitors,
the museum is recognized as among the nation’s premier
farm museums. Situated at an operating dairy farm, the
museum has a dual mission of education and preservation. As
Laurance Rockefeller believed that
places of natural beauty, heritage,
aesthetic value, and recreational
opportunity had the power to inspire
and lift the human spirit.
an educational museum it collects, cares for, and interprets
the heritage and values of the Billings Farm and of the
surrounding region of rural Vermont, and it also preserves the
Billings Farm as a significant landscape and a historic place.
As an important cultural institution, it has become a “gateway
to Vermont’s rural heritage.”
The creation of the museum gave an educational purpose to
the historic Billings Farm. As the museum evolved, the farm
increasingly came to be thought of as a historic place. In the
late 1980s the museum restored the farm’s 1890 Farm House,
a pivotal part of Frederick Billings’s progressive farm. The
creation of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical
Park in the 1990s underscored the national significance of
the mansion and the Mount Tom forest, as well as the farm,
and the independently owned and operated Billings Farm &
Museum became its National Park’s operating partner.
(Photo Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
LAURANCE ROCKEFELLER hired Bob Lord, right, a crackerjack farm manager who brought the
Billings Farm once again to the top of its field in terms of breeding fine dairy cattle.
Toward the end of his long life, Laurance Rockefeller
commented that, for him, the impulse for conservation was
rooted in a humanistic desire to help fellow humans find and
do those things that would enhance their healthy relationship
with their environment. He believed that places of natural
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around forested hills, farm meadows, and historic streetscapes
of Woodstock, at the Billings Farm, in the National Park, at
the Inn, and in the village that they loved.
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Page Six-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Billings Farm & Museum: Gateway
To Vermont’s Rural Heritage
Thursday October 9 2008
Billings Farm: An Entry Point To Agricultural History
I
n the summer of 2003, Governor James M. Douglas
congratulated the Billings Farm & Museum on its 20th
Anniversary:
If farming is to have a future in this state, indeed if Vermont
is to have a future with farms, the Billings Farm & Museum
will help to lead the way. As a gateway to our rural heritage
it shows thousands of visitors and students every year where
rural Vermont has come from and why it is so important. It
shows how ideas combined with hard work, with hands on
relationships between people and nature, between humans and
dairy cows, the soil and the seasons. It shows how generations
interact with the places they inhabit and the places from which
they draw their sustenance, how generations can care for the
places they pass on to their children. In so many ways the
Billings Farm represents the best of Vermont past, present and
future. A clean environment, culture and heritage, tourism
and a strong economy go hand in hand. Indeed, they are all
important to each other’s success. For us to succeed as a state
it is places like the Billings Farm & Museum that will help lead
the way, the Vermont way. Congratulations on twenty years of
service to the people of Vermont and the nation and best wishes
for many more!
For travelers and Vermonters alike, Billings Farm is a
gateway to a destination
of rich historical,
cultural, aesthetic, and
natural significance.
Vermont is a distinctive
agricultural landscape
knit together with
compact villages, lined
with pristine natural
areas, and punctuated
with lively small cities.
Vermont’s culture is
likewise distinctive and
lively, full of tradition
and innovation, with a
vibrant creative economy
rapidly developing
amid a traditional rural
culture. Rural Vermont
is at once comforting
and surprising. It is one
of the world’s great unspoiled destinations – a place to nourish
and renew the human spirit.
To be an effective gateway means to help people appreciate
Vermont and use it well. This applies to both travelers
exploring the state and to Vermonters and their regional
neighbors. The audience of the Billings Farm & Museum is
evenly divided between these two groups. Many visitors are
travelers from “away,” as Vermonters like to say, and an equal
number are Vermont residents or live within a couple of hours’
drive of Woodstock. Many of both groups become members,
often visiting a number of times each year. Many who are
now Vermonters, came to the state as part of the great influx
that began in the 1960s, adding new energy to Vermont society
and particularly helping to build the creative sector of the
state’s economy.
All of these people come to Billings Farm seeking a farm
experience and insights into the culture of Vermont’s rural
countryside. Many are families, either with young children or
in multiple generations, who come both to learn and to enjoy a
beautiful and safe place where they can have an engaging time
being with one another. The farm offers these experiences,
and increasingly, insights that they can take away with them,
either to their homes nearby or in their exploration of the
larger countryside beyond the farm fence.
To fulfill its gateway role well, the Farm & Museum should
enrich the experience and insight of its visitors as they explore
Vermont beyond Woodstock. It should help them to appreciate
and engage places in Vermont, encouraging them to linger and
to explore more deeply than they otherwise might, thereby
enhancing their Vermont experience. Through appreciation
and engagement with rural Vermont, they are more likely to
become insightful travelers and residents, better equipped to
be stewards of their own places.
A visit to the Billings Farm & Museum begins with
discovery of the dairy farm that Frederick Billings established
in 1871 on land that nourished Native Americans before
Yankee settlement and that helped shape the thinking of
George Perkins Marsh – the dairy farm that Mary and
Elizabeth Billings rebuilt in the aftermath of World War
II – the dairy farm that Laurance and Mary Rockefeller
transformed into a center for preservation and interpretation
of the agricultural roots of the Vermont countryside. The visit
continues with exploration of the history of Billings Farm and
of the rural society that surrounded it and helped shape the
countryside and culture of Vermont. The visit concludes with
an invitation to explore Vermont deeply, inspired by Billings
Farm and Woodstock and with the knowledge of an “insider,”
with insight into the life, work, culture, and society that
continually transform, steward, and enrich the hill country of
the Green Mountains.
LAURANCE ROCKEFELLER was fond of returning to his Woodstock home to check on the
progress and operation of the Billings Farm and Museum. In the far left inset photo, Rockefeller is
pictured during one of these visits. At the farm and museum’s 20th anniversary, above, Rockefeller
posed with Woodstock Foundation President David Donath, left and Wes Frye, chairman of
Woodstock Resort Corp. Holdings,
LLC. When the 1890’s farmhouse
was dedicated in 1989, Mary and
Laurance Rockefeller, near left, met
with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and his
wife Marcel to discuss the formation
of Vermont’s first national park. At
the 20th anniversary celebration of
the Billings Farm, below, Gov. Jim
Douglas, right, named a calf at the
farm. Laurance Rockefeller, bottom
right, chats with longtime friend
Judge F.S. Billings Jr. The new
theater, bottom left, adds a whole
new dimension to the Billings Farm
and Museum visitors’ experience.
(Photos Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
Thursday October 9 2008
Page Seven-B
The Museum Years:
A Place In The Land
Thursday October 9 2008
Worldwide Views Work In Woodstock’s Favor
By KEVIN FORREST
fountainhead” of the U.S. conservation
Standard Editor
movement.
he tale of the Billings Farm is an oftAs George Perkins Marsh traveled the
told story around Woodstock. And
world as a diplomat and attorney in the
thanks to some people gifted with
mid-1800s, his brother Charles was selling
long-range vision and the means to protect a
off pieces of the farm. One of these was
legacy, the story will unfold before the eyes
purchased in 1869 by Frederick Billings, a
of visitors for many years to come.
native Woodstocker who had returned home
Long before Caucasian settlers laid eyes on
after making a fortune as a San Francisco
this verdant valley, other settlers recognized
attorney during the gold rush.
the fertile treasures of this scenic plot along
Billings had read Man and Nature.
the Ottauquechee River.
“He took it to heart,”
“When white settlers first
Donath said. Billings was
As
George
Perkins
came to Woodstock, they
a “captain of industry”
found a good area of that
who would later save the
Marsh traveled
field was cleared,” explains
Northern Pacific Railroad
the world as a
David Donath, president of
with a reorganization plan
diplomat and
the Woodstock Foundation
(Billings, Montana bears his
that owns and operates the
name). A man who believed
attorney in the
Billings Farm & Museum.
that technology, science
mid-1800s, his
“That suggests strongly that
and a sense of preservation
brother
Charles
it was used agriculturally by
could be blended, Billings
Native Americans. We don’t
reforested Mount Tom
was selling off
know the details. Maybe
pieces of the farm. and set about creating the
someday archeologists will
best possible dairy herd,
be able to help us with that.”
importing European trees
Charles Marsh was a prominent attorney
and cattle.
in Woodstock in the early 1800s. He
Not satisfied with creating arguably the
acquired the farm and developed it into
best farm in Vermont, Billings also turned
a thriving operation. One of his children,
his attention to his native Woodstock. He
George Perkins Marsh, would be forever
helped start its first railroad, its first gas
affected by his childhood roamings over
company and the town’s first centerpiece inn.
the fields and nearby Mount Tom. The
He brought in the much-acclaimed George
young Marsh developed a keen sense of
Aitken as farm manager. Aitken’s tenure
appreciation for preserving forestland and
would bring what Donath calls the “heyday”
agricultural sites that at the time were
of the farm from the 1880s through 1910
being ravaged by irresponsible agricultural
when Aitken died. Shortly after Billings’
practices. His childhood experiences and
death in 1890, cows from his farm took top
later life observations would culminate
honors at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
in the writing of Man and Nature,” a
Those medals still grace the walls at the
book described by historians as “the
Billings Farm.
T
MARY AND LAURANCE
Rockefeller pictured at
the Billings Farm and
Museum dedication in
1983, above. At left, a
craftsman demonstrates
how things were made
a century ago. The
Billings Farm and
Museum prides itself on
presenting a realistic view
of the rugged farm life of
yesteryear.
(Photo Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
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Page Eight-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
The Museum Years:
A Place In The Land
Thursday October 9 2008
New Manager Brings Glory Days Back To The Farm
A
fter George Aitkens died, the Billings Farm slipped
into some of its least memorable decades. During the
Depression, the Windsor County Fair, long located on
a plot adjacent to the farm, closed. The Billings Family was
able to acquire this key parcel.
But during World War II, the Billings Farm dwindled to “a
couple of cows and just a faint shadow of what it had been,”
according to Donath. Victory gardens were planted in its fields.
A key development during this time found Frederick
Billings’ daughters Mary and Elizabeth pooling their
remaining resources to revitalize the farm. After the war they
expanded and modernized the now-familiar large barns, added
a creamery and restocked the herd
According to with fine specimens.
“In the early 1950s, Billings Farm
Dave Donath, is the local dairy in Woodstock,”
explained Donath. Later it would
“Bob Lord
had the job of merge with Starlake (located
on Woodstock’s East End). The
taking Billings bottling moved to Wilder in 1962.
Soon after Mary French’s death
Farm back to
its glory days in 1951, her daughter Mary and
husband Laurance Rockefeller
and he did.” made the famous mansion their
summer home. Intrigued by the
farm, Laurance bought up the family shares and took it over.
At this same time, he began purchasing properties throughout
Woodstock, including the Woodstock Inn and Country Club.
Laurance hired Bob Lord, “a very successful, very
flamboyant leader in Jersey breeding circles,” according to
Donath. “Bob Lord had the job of taking Billings Farm back
to its glory days and he did.”
Lord’s crowning achievement was the breeding of the
“Roseanne” cow that won top honors for the farm, once again
establishing it as a prize breeder of Jersey cows.
At this same time during the 1970s, Rockefeller launched
the Vermont Folklife Project. Researchers Scott Hastings and
Geraldine Brown began gathering oral histories and other data
about Vermont rural farm families. This information would
provide a key ingredient in the creation of the Billings Farm &
Museum in 1983.
Celebrating
30 Years!
WHERE DOES butter come from?
A young visitor, left, at the Billings
Farm and Museum learns that it
takes hard work to create this and
other dairy products. Beautiful quilts,
above, are a common sight at the
museum. Every year local quilters’
work is displayed and voted on
by visitors. Below, visitors to the
museum barn learn all the aspects of
milking cows, including both the new
and old methods.
(Photo Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
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Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Page Nine-B
The Museum Years:
A Place In The Land
Thursday October 9 2008
Rockefeller Reveals His Plans To Preserve History
R
ockefeller granted the Valley News an extensive
interview in the early 1980s. In that, he hinted that he
wanted to preserve the treasures of the farm, Mount
Tom forest and the mansion and eventually share them with
the public. Ensuing years would see this prophesy fulfilled.
Meanwhile, the Billings Farm—with its real-life working
dairy operation and stunning museum exhibits—began to earn
a reputation as a top Vermont tourist draw and a favorite stop
for visiting school groups.
“We grew steadily in attendance throughout the 1980s and
1990s, up to about 55,000
to 60,000 visitors a year,”
Meanwhile, the
Donath said. “That leveled
Billings Farm—with off in the late 1990s and
stayed the same,”
its real-life working hasBut,
Donath added, “A
dairy operation and lot of museums have been
stunning museum challenged but we have
remarkably stable.”
exhibits—began to been
The farm and museum
earn a reputation
has also been sustained
by up to 900 members.
as a top Vermont
Donath describes them as
tourist draw and
“mostly families, a very
a favorite stop for loyal group that visits on
average 4.5 times per year.
visiting school
That’s a very active, loyal
groups.
following.”
In 1989, the institution
proudly unveiled a new focal point for the museum—a
restored 1890s farmhouse. Even today many of the
demonstrations of old-time crafts and skills are imbued with
a special sense of realism as they take place in this historic
building.
It was after this dedication ceremony that the Rockefellers
invited U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and his wife Marcel back
to the mansion for lemonade. Here the four talked about the
possibility of creating Vermont’s first national park on this
site. Since Rockefeller had much experience with establishing
national parks in the Grand Tetons and the Virgin Islands, it’s
probably an idea that had simmered in his imagination for
decades. Nine years later that dream would become a reality.
Numbers Matter!
Last year we gave
$820,631.90
to community fund drives,
special events,
and scholarship funds,
including Äeld lights in Woodstock, summer concerts
in Lyme, and to rebuild the fairgrounds in Windsor.
As a mutually owned bank,
dedicated by our charter to
serve our community, the
numbers that are most
important to us may
surprise you.
BILLINGS FARM heroes
gather, above. At left is
Bob Lord. At right is his
wife Dot. Raymond Brown,
foreground was a longtime
farm employee. Wooden
fences, left, and other farm
structures constructed with
century-old techniques,
make museum visitors feel
like they’ve traveled back in
time.
(Photo Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
The Registered JerseysTM of The Billings Farm
An Illustrious History
1871 ... The Jersey herd at The Billings Farm is founded by Frederick Billings with
the purchase of Pet Gilford 3317, born December 8 of 1870.
1872, July ... Frederick Billings elected as the 109th member of The American Jersey
Cattle Club.
1873, March 27 ... Evelyn 3104 is born and recorded with The Club as the first calf
resulting from a mating made by Frederick Billings.
1893 ... At the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 21 of the 22 Jerseys in
the Vermont exhibit came from the Billings herd. When The Club selected the
animals to compete in “The Battle of the Breeds,” six were taken from the Billings
herd—more than were taken from any other herd. Lily Garfield 79819 gained
renown by having the greatest net profit in the test of young cows.
1943 ... Work begins to restore the farm to showplace condition by Frederick Billings’
surviving daughters, Miss Elizabeth Billings and Mrs. Mary Billings French.
1965 ... Tristram Remus Joan, bred by The Billings Farm, wins The American
Jersey Cattle Club President’s Trophy for best milk record in the nation.
1971, September ... The cover of Jersey Journal pictures 30 descendants of Frederick
Billings at a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Jersey herd.
1974 ... Laurance and Mary French Rockefeller assume operation of The Billings
Farm and hire Bob Lord to return the herd to the level of championship quality.
1983 ... The Billings Farm & Museum is created.
1987, July ... One-half interest of Billings Top Rosanne 3376974 sells at the
International Jersey Extravaganza auction for an all-time record price of $36,000.
1988 ... “Rosanne” is selected the National Grand Champion of the Jersey breed at
The All American Jersey Show.
1989 ... “Rosanne” attains an official score of Excellent-96% in March. In November,
she retains her crown as National Grand Champion, becoming just the third cow
ever to repeat in back-to-back years.
Fast forward to 2007 ... As befits their breeding and management—and the heritage
of The Billings Farm as a working dairy farm—each one of the 30 Registered
JerseyTM cows produce the equivalent of nearly 2,000 pounds Cheddar cheese.
The Members of the American Jersey Cattle Association
salute The Billings Farm & Museum on its 25th Anniversary.
AMERICAN JERSEY CATTLE ASSOCIATION
Putting You First
888.627.2662 | www.mascomabank.com
Organized 1868 to Improve and Promote the Jersey Breed of Cattle
6486 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068-2362 U.S.A.
(614) 861-3636 www.USJersey.com
Page Ten-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
The Museum Years:
A Place In The Land
Thursday October 9 2008
Things Weren’t Always Easy Down On The Farm
O
ne of the missions of the Billings Farm & Museum is to
depict a realistic, non-sugar-coated picture of farm life
a century ago. Deputy Director Darlyne Franzen likes
to ask departing guests what they now think of farm life.
“It was hard, really hard” to live on a farm back then, most
tell her.
“It makes us realize that we are doing something right
because they’re not going away with a romanticized vision of
‘wouldn’t it be nice to live on a farm?’” Franzen explained.
Donath agreed. “Part
“Part of the
of the reason Vermont is
reason Vermont
beautiful is that it’s a rather
is beautiful is that harsh environment, not
the easiest place to make a
it’s a rather harsh living from the land.” Farm
environment, not
life in the late 1800s “was
a complex way of life that
the easiest place
requires lots of skills, lots
to make a living
of hard work and lots of
from the land.”
knowledge to make a go
of it. And that’s part of the
David Donath
richness of the experience.”
Donath is especially proud of the museum’s moniker,
“Gateway To Vermont’s Rural Heritage.” For locals who visit
the museum, it offers them a chance to better understand and
appreciate the special place where they live.
For the many out-of-state visitors, the Billings Farm &
Museum helps them to “get a good sense of why does this land
look the way it does and what are the underlying forces and
human activities that made this happen,” according to Donath.
“Our hope is that when you come to Billings Farm you get a
sense that motivates you to do further exploration and maybe
spend more time in Vermont,” he said.
Donath says that the museum’s exhibits, many of them in the
form of striking life-size tableaux, are now a quarter century old.
“They’re still very rewarding and in fine shape. But lots of
people have seen them and it’s time for us to refresh them,
to bring in some other exhibits and add to the story,” he
added. To that end, two grants over the past two years totaling
$50,000 from the National Endowment on the Humanities will
start the process of upgrading the exhibits.
KIDS ALWAYS enjoy their visits to Billings Farm
and Museum, above. It instills them with an
appreciation for farm history as well as how life
wasn’t always so simple back in the old days.
Quilt makers, left, display their beautiful works
of art each summer at the museum. A view from
the farmhouse, below, looks much like it did a
century ago.
(Photo Courtesy Billings Farm and Museum)
Congratulations
Billings on 25 Years
CO M P L E T E
B A N K I N G
S E R V I C E S
.
2 The Green • Woodstock, Vermont • 802-457-2660
Member FDIC
www.chittenden.com
Congrats on 25 Great Years
from a company
celebarating their 40th Year
Congratulations on 25 years
Billings Farm & Museum
from Poulos Insurance.
We along with the entire community are so
very proud of what you have accomplished.
P
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FARM AND EQUINE
LIFE AND HEALTH
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Page Eleven-B
The Museum Years:
A Place In The Land
Thursday October 9 2008
History Of Excellence Remains Firmly In Place
F
ranzen said there have been some consistent values that
have marked the 25-year stewardship of the Billings
Farm & Museum.
“We’re very much motivated by the Billings’ and
Rockefellers’ history of excellence—doing things well,
treating people well, and having a great sense of hospitality,”
she explained. “We’ve always wanted this to be an engaging,
welcoming, friendly place to be. We felt people would learn
faster, learn more. We also felt people would be inclined to
talk about this place to others and to return more themselves.”
This welcoming viewpoint and standard of excellence for all
work connected to the museum has served the Billings Farm
& Museum well throughout its 25-year history.
“That’s a really important part of what we do,” Franzen said.
“It colors all the decisions we make. It’s something we’ve
become known for and something we’re really proud of.”
A JERSEY COW,
above, represents a
century-plus tradition
of some of the finest
cattle breeding and
raising in the world.
Governor Jim Douglas,
far left, is a regular
visitor to the Billings
Farm and Museum.
Left, children visit
the museum’s dairy
barns for an up-close
encounter with the
award-winning herd.
(Photo Courtesy
Billings Farm and Museum)
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Page Twelve-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Marking A Milestone:
A Quarter Century Of Excellence
Thursday October 9 2008
Despite Rain, 25th Celebration Turns Into A Festive Success
A
nyone who has anything to do with a farm knows that the weather
often has the last word. On Sunday, July 20, 2008—the day set aside to
celebrate the Billings Farm and Museum’s 25th anniversary—the weather
didn’t cooperate.
“It rained that day,” explains Woodstock Foundation President David Donath.
“But despite the weather—and maybe even because of it—it was an absolutely
wonderful time.”
A festive day of speeches, music and other fun activities moved inside the
spacious barns.
“We were expecting a much smaller crowd,” said Donath. “We had a thousand
people that day.”
“Everybody kind of crowded into the barns and we did the event. And it was hot
and muggy and everyone seemed to have a marvelous time,” Donath explained.
“Because of the weather it was more intimate than it might otherwise haven
been.”
Governor Jim Douglas was the keynote speaker. At the 20th anniversary
celebration five years earlier, the governor had named a newborn calf. Five years
later, he was privileged to meet this now full-grown cow.
AT THE ENTRANCE to the Billings Farm and Museum, above
right, Governor Jim Douglas and Woodstock Foundation
President David Donath reflect on the significance of the 25th
celebration. Governor Douglas, bottom right, chats with local
legislator Alison Clarkson of Woodstock. A mother and her
young children, bottom right, admire a diorama depicting the
Billings Farm and Museum and surrounding landscape. Above,
wagon rides made the day special for many of the visitors and
(Vermont Standard-Rick Russell Photos)
celebrants.
Ottauquechee Plumbing & Heating
has been proud to be a part of the 25th
Anniversary of Billings Farm
& Museum.
Best Wishes to Billings Farm &
Museum and their Staff in the Future.
OTTAUQUECHEE
PLUMBING & HEATING
445 Woodstock Road, Suite 1
Woodstock, VT 05091
802-457-1795
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Congratulations on
25 Great Years!
7/6;6!:,;/)<;3,9
for 25 years of leadership in preserving
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VERMONT HISTORY CENTER AND LIBRARY • 60 WASHINGTON ST • BARRE, VT 05641
WWW.VERMONTHISTORY.ORG 802-479-8500
FOR VERMONTERS AND VERMONTERS AT HEART SINCE 1838
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Page Thirteen-B
Marking A Milestone:
A Quarter Century Of Excellence
Thursday October 9 2008
Music, Fun, Serious Reflection Mark 25th Cebration
B
illings Farm and Museum members savored the
celebration. “Our members turned out in force,”
Donath explained. “And some who may have
wandered in found themselves in the middle of quite a
treat.”
The Vermont Fiddle Orchestra performed, as did Vermont
Public Radio’s Robert Resnick and his folk group.
Humorist Willem Lange added a nice folksy touch to the
proceedings. And the governor’s keynote was appropriate
and touching.
“We spent a
good deal of
time that day
talking about
the significance
of what
Billings Farm
and Museum
meant,” said
Donath. The
th
“anchoring
entities” of the
WoodstockRockefeller
legacy—the
Billings Farm
and Museum, the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Park
and the Woodstock Resort Corp.—were now in place. With
the Woodstock Foundation becoming the sole shareholder
of the resort earlier this year, the trinity became complete.
This was the first major celebration involving the farm
since Laurance Rockefeller’s death four years previous.
Woodstock Foundation Deputy Director Darlyne Franzen
said, “It was very bittersweet,” she said. “This was the first
major event after Laurance’s passing.”
Rockefeller’s last official luncheon in Vermont was held
with the governor and his wife at the 20th anniversary
celebration. He died a year later.
“Now we’re on our own,” said Donath. “And we’re
carrying on in the grand tradition.”
Rockefeller’s last
official luncheon in
Vermont was held
with the governor
and his wife at the
20 anniversary
celebration. He
died a year later.
We appreciate
having participated in
BILLINGS FARM
& MUSEUM
during its past 25 years
P.O. Box 269 • 5 High Street
Woodsville, NH 03785
603-747-3303 • Fax 603-747-3854
A YOUNG visitor,
left, dances to
the music of the
Vermont Fiddle
Orchestra at the
Billings Farm
and Museum
25th Anniversary
celebration in
July 2008. Some
visitors, below left,
who happened
by the farm and
museum were in
for a rare treat as
they become part of
the 25th anniversary
celebration. For the
girls in the barn,
below right, it was
just another day in
the barn.
(Vermont StandardRick Russell Photos)
Page Fourteen-B
Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Marking A Milestone:
A Quarter Century Of Excellence
Thursday October 9 2008
Remarks By Gov. Jim Douglas At Billings
Farm & Museum Anniversary Celebration
T
hank you for inviting me to share in this
nificent and economically crucial part of the vil25th anniversary celebration of a true
lage will continue to operate. The combination
Vermont treasure, the Billings Farm and
of the Inn, the Park, and the Billings Farm form
Museum.
a solid foundation upon which the Woodstock
I’d like to thank the organizers of this event,
community can build a vibrant future.
Wes Frye, the Chairman of the Board of the
The Billings Farm and Museum helps to
Woodstock Foundation; President David Doensure that Vermont’s agricultural legacy will
nath; Darlene Franzen, the Deputy Director;
be passed on to future generations. What is so
Rolf Diamant, Superintendent of the Marshunique and powerful about the experience, and
Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park;
what has contributed to the success of the Farm
Nora Mitchell, head of the Conservation Study
and Museum for the past 25 years is the combiInstitute; and all of the Trustees from the Wood- nation of both a museum and a working farm.
stock Foundation
The past meets the present, and the process by
The last time I was here was for the
which our land produces the bounty that
20th anniversary celebration five years
we enjoy on our dinner tables every
ago. It was then I got to name a calf,
night is brought to life for young and
who I called Buttermilk. I understand
old to delight in.
that she will return for a reunion a
Here in Vermont our rural and
little later today, and I’m looking
agricultural roots run deep, but
forward to seeing her again. I’m
each of us can find that spirit
State
of
Vermont
not trying to take credit for getrenewed by re-connecting with
ting her a job, but I’ve been OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR the land at a place like the
following her career, and I unBillings Farm and Museum.
derstand she’s been an outstanding Jersey, a top- We know that our state’s rich agricultural herirated performer.
tage and working landscape draws visitors to
It was also five years ago that I had lunch with Vermont, and preserving farms and barns is an
Laurance Rockefeller, the last time he had an
important part of strengthening both our tourism
official luncheon in Vermont before he passed
and agricultural industries.
away.
Last fall, we received a grant from the
The transfer of ownership of the Woodstock
Preserve America program that will help the
Resort Corporation from Laurance Rockefeller’s Division for Historic Preservation conduct the
Estate to the Woodstock Foundation represents
first Vermont Barn Census. Volunteers from
yet another inestimable contribution by the
all of Vermont’s towns will fan out and take an
Rockefeller family to the community of Woodinventory of these historic icons to help better
stock and the State of Vermont. When Laurance preserve them.
and Mary Rockefeller made a gift to the people
It is programs like these, and institutions like
of America of the home of George Perkins
the Billings Farm and Museum, that will help
Marsh and Frederick Billings and the national
ensure that visitors and Vermonters alike never
park was created in 1992, a piece of Vermont’s
forget the importance of farmers to our state,
heritage was forever preserved for all to cherish. and never lose our connection to this mystic
With the Woodstock Inn now similarly proland.
tected, Woodstock and the surrounding area’s
Congratulations on 25 years of success, and
future are made vastly more secure as this magbest wishes for the next quarter-century.
A YOUNG
visitor, above,
gets friendly
with one of
the prizewinning herd.
Children of
all ages, left,
enjoy both
the learning
and fun that
comes with
a visit to the
Billings Farm
and Museum.
(Vermont StandardRick Russell Photos)
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Congratulations to
Billings Farm & Museum
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Vermont Standard, Woodstock
Thursday October 9 2008
ODSTOCK
O
W
OUR
155
VERMONT
z
TH
YEAR
1853 SESQUICENTENNIAL 2003
Page Fifteen-B
STANDARD
Vermont’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper
z
Woodstock • Quechee • Barnard • Pomfret • Hartland • West Windsor • Reading • Bridgewater
Congratulations
Billings Farm & Museum
On Your 25th Anniversary!
Your Community’s
Local Weekly
Newspaper
The Vermont Standard and Billings
Farm and Museum have something
very important in common — both
work diligently to preserve what
makes Vermont special.
Quechee - New VINS
Director Named
Woodstock - Is
Contamination Worth It?
Page 2A
Page 3A
VERMONT
Volume 151 — Number 28
Serving The Woodstock Region Since 1853
West Windsor - Symphony
Under The Stars
Page 6B
SM-3703
Ht: 0.918", Wd: 1.3221",
Mag: 90% BWR: 2
STANDARD
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Seventy-¿ve Cents
Woodstock Mourns Rockefeller’s Passing
Warm-Hearted, Brilliant
Benefactor Remembered
Rockefeller’s
Blueprint For
The Future
By CASSIE HORNER
News Correspondent
Laurance Rockefeller died on
Sunday, July 11 at his home in
New York City. He was 94. People
throughout Woodstock reÀected on
the man who had such a strong af¿nity for the town and did so much to
reinforce the elements of its beauty.
Rockefeller is also remembered with
affection and respect by the many
people whose lives he graced. Again
and again, memories of him show his
quiet authority, his commitment to
whatever he believed in, and his sincere interest in the passions of others
that made them feel they could accomplish just about anything.
Peter Jennison, author and historian, describes Rockefeller as
“Övery unassuming, a perfectionist,
brilliant, very warm-hearted...In all
of his local philanthropy, he saw
himself not as Father Christmas but
as a catalyst.”
A cousin, Jane Wolfe, recalls, “He
never lost his absolute fascination
with life. He wanted to learn everything to the end. He never lost one
By CASSIE HORNER
News Correspondent
In the wake of Laurance Rockefeller’s death on Sunday, it is appropriate to reÀect on the legacy
he left in Woodstock and what the
future holds.
In talking with Woodstock people
closely associated with Rockefeller’s
holdings, it becomes obvious that
Laurance Rockefeller was a man of
vision who ensured that his various
operations would continue as they
do now.
“Laurance’s outlook was always
long beyond his own lifetime...
That’s the very good news for all of
us. He had a strong sense this would
carry on beyond him,” said David
Donath, executive director of the
Billings Farm and Museum..
Chet Williamson, president and
See BLUEPRINT - Page 7A
Celebrating
155 years
of giving
the local
community
news it
can use.
‘Mansion’
Seemed
LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER and his beloved wife Mary French Rockefeller at the Billings The Early Years Recalled
Rockefeller’s Farm and Museum in the early 1980s, one of the couple’s lasting legacies.
Destiny
A Major Player On The World Stage
(Billings Family Archives)
➔
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller
brain cell. He loved to just gather information. What made him effective
was he was a good listener...That’s
what made him a great leader.” She
went on to comment on his strong
interest in her work in faith and
peace, and her role as president of
the World YWCA. “He was a tremendous enabler of other people’s
By HOWARD COFFIN
Special To The Standard
There are times, it seems, when
history reveals to the world a grand
design. A professor of mine decades
ago had another slant on it. “The
times bring forth the man,” he said.
At any rate, the fact that Laurance
Rockefeller came to live in what
Woodstock folks have long called
“The Mansion” seems now, at the
time of his passing, to somehow have
been foreordained.
After all, George Perkins Marsh
and Frederick Billings had been previous owners of that imposing home
on the knoll. Marsh, no less, was the
founder of the American conservation movement His 1864 book Man
and Nature, based considerably on
his childhood experiences in WoodSee DESTINY -Page 8A
NEW TAVERN
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Etc........
Closed Sunday for
Private Function
Monday — Community
Clam Bake
By DON WICKMAN
Special To The Standard
Laurance Rockefeller had a legacy
both near and far. When he died
this Sunday, Woodstock and the
rest of the United States lost a man
who followed long-rooted values
in conservation and philanthropy.
Though placed at No. 377 on Forbes
Magazine’s list of 587 billionaires
with a wealth of 1.5 billion, Rockefeller found solace in the simple
exercise of chopping and splitting
firewood.
Laurance Rockefeller was born in
1910 into a family with a pedigree of
wealth. Grandfather John D. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Co.
and made it an empire in the field
of industry. By the time Laurance
Rockefeller was three years old,
the family fortune had peaked at
Choice Is
Nothing
New In
Hartland
By MICHELLE FIELDS
News Correspondent
HARTLAND - In recent years,
charter schools, voucher programs and school exchange systems have sprung up in different
parts of the country as ways to
provide more options for families
seeking the best education for
their children.
In this area, choice often consists of whether to tuition a child
into another public school or to
select a boarding school or local
private school. In choosing those
options, families usually pay
anywhere from $4,000 to over
See CHOICE - Page 6A
one billion dollars. It was that year,
1913, that grandfather Rockefeller
began the Rockefeller Foundation
with its central focus to “promote
the well being of mankind throughout the world. Management of the
multi-million dollar foundation went
to his son and namesake, John D.
Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. had graduated from Brown University and
followed his father into business. He
also carried with him several family
values, especially firm standards of
morality influenced by his Baptist
upbringing. Rockefeller philanthropy became known worldwide and
the causes that it supported varied
across the globe.
Laurance Rockefeller was the
fourth of six children born to John
D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich
By CASSIE HORNER
News Correspondent
Two Republican challengers have
entered the race for two area House
seats. Ira Pike of Mendon has announced his candidacy opposite
incumbent Harry Chen, Democrat
of Mendon. Pike served for two
terms then was defeated by Chen
in 2002 for the slot to represent
Bridgewater, Killington, Mendon
and Chittenden.
“I don’t feel we’re getting proper
representation up in Montpelier,”
Pike says of his reason for running
for of¿ce. “There are four towns in
the district. I don’t feel Killington
and Bridgewater are getting their
voices heard on education funding
issues.”
In another contest, Anthony Paino
of Quechee has announced his decision to run against incumbent Michael Reese who represents Barnard,
Pomfret and Hartford. Paino, who
was unavailable for an interview,
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By GEORGINA WILLIAMSON
Special To The Standard
After Laurance Rockefeller decided to acquire the Woodstock Country
Club in 1961 my husband George
Williamson and I were contacted at
the Middlebury Inn, which George
was running, to come and manage
the club. We had both managed the
White Cupboard Inn for Nelson B.
Lee Sr., and his wife Mary F. Lee
and we were both thrilled to come
back to Woodstock where we loved
the people and the place. We were
told that there was only one working
lawnmower, and if Laurance had not
bought it that the club would have
become defunct and that there would
have been a housing development in
its place.
Up until that time, Laurance had
regarded Woodstock a place to come
to without care, where he could
roam about freely without all of the
usual trappings that he had to face
in other places. At roughly the same
time he bought the Mount Tom ski
area which was also in dire straits
and which produced one of Nelson
Lee’s better “bon mots”—”The St.
Laurance Skiway.”
Both Laurance and Mary took
a personal interest in all the new
goings-on, and Robert Trent Jones
was called in to reconfigure the golf
course. I remember Trent Jones coming to dinner in his hip-high welly
boots. Equipment and trees arrived
on a daily basis. The clubhouse had
been the house of the old Townsend
farm until 1966 when Laurance
decided
to build- Page
a new8Aclubhouse,
See EARLY
Inside The Standard
Obituaries ............................. 4A
Area Briefs ...................... 5C-8C
Sports ............................. 1B-3B
Editorial .......................... 2D-4D
Entertainment ................ 1C-4C
Town News ......... 4B-6B, 5D-6D
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Rockefeller. The interesting spelling of his first named can be traced
directly to his paternal grandmother,
Laura Spelman Rockefeller. In failing health in 1910, she was honored
by the family when they named
their son Laurance Spelman, which
explains the use of two a’s in the
first name.
Growing up as part of one of
America’s most influential families,
Laurance Rockefeller witnessed the
strong sense of philanthropy generated through the family. His father
purchased lands on Maine’s Mount
Desert Island and donated them
towards Acadia National Park. John
D. Rockefeller, Jr. did likewise in
the Wyoming’s Grand Tetons to help
to establish a national park in that
beautiful natural area. Then, through
See STAGE - Page 8A
See BENEFACTOR - Page 8A
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Woodstock
457-3232
ANTHONY PAINO
Challenging Reese
wrote in a press release that he is
running “Because I took an oath to
support and defend the Constitution.” It goes on to say, “He also
realizes that the people of Barnard,
Pomfret, Quechee and West Hartford
deserve adequate representation in
Montpelier.”
Asked to identify key issues, Pike
quickly responds, “One thing that really struck home this year is Act 68.
The present representative (Chen)
knew it would hurt two of the towns.
More than hurt; it’s devastating...It’s
hurting people with ¿xed incomes,
the working Vermonter.” He believes
the way property is valued in the
state is uneven. “It (the Common
Level of Appraisal) is supposed to
be a system that is universal across
the whole state, but it is not.” He believes something can be done without touching Act 68 by changing the
appraisal system. “If it’s a statewide
tax you have to have a statewide appraisal,” he observes.
This district has become a sort
of poster child for property tax
reform. Just this week, Killington
approached New Hampshire lawmakers with a proposal to secede
from Vermont and join that state
over what town of¿cials believe is
unfair taxation.
Among other areas of concern to
Vermonters, health care is high on
See CHALLENGES - Page 6A
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694 HARTFORD AVE.
WHITE RIVER JCT., VT
802-295-8010
452 Woodstock Road Woodstock, Vermont 05091
PH: 802.457.3291
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Billings Farm and Museum has
become a cornerstone to the history
of the Woodstock region — a role
we are proud to share with you.
Vermont
Standard
P.O. Box 88
Woodstock, Vermont 05091
802-457-1313 • Fax 802-457-3639
www.thevermontstandard.com
Phillip Cabot Camp Sr., Publisher