Notes from the Hill

PAGE 22 • JULY 15, 2010
THE BRIDGE
Queen Set starting at
Notes from
the Hill
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499
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MATTRESS LAN
ND
D
Waterbury-Stowe Rd.
Waterbury
244-1116
46 N. Main St.
Barre
479-0671
by Thomas Christopher Greene
www.montpelierbridge.com
Carter
rbara
by Ba
g
in
w
Dra
Summer Highlights
W
hile traditional college campuses
are watching the tumbleweeds
roll through their dormitories and
across their manicured quadrangles, the Vermont College of Fine Arts is currently experiencing its busiest time of the year. Some of
the highlights from the hill this summer:
• Our largest residency, the MFA in Writing, just left town. There were close to 200
writers on campus from all around the
country.
• Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Claudia
Emerson joined us as our first Distinguished
Visiting Writer.
• The prose writers, captained by yours
truly, won the annual Prose vs. Poets softball
game on July 4. It was a barnburner of a
game and the final score was 15–13. We had
a strong lead early and it was only through illegally putting our entire team in the field—
16 or so players—in the final innings that we
were able to stave off a stronger than expected poetry team. The good news was that
the game did not have to be called on account of apathy.
• One more sports note: In attendance at
the MFA in Writing graduation was longtime
NBA star Antonio McDyess, currently with
the San Antonio Spurs. His wife, Liara,
earned her degree in fiction.
• The MFA in Writing for Children and
Young Adults program is in session this
week. We are literally the center of the children’s literature universe for the next 10
days. In addition to our esteemed core and
visiting faculty, Gregory Maguire and Holly
Black (both bestselling writers) will be joining us and speaking on campus.
• A few weeks ago, we held our first-ever
Writing for Stage and Conference. The amazing and accomplished group on campus included Vermont playwright Dana Yeaton;
Pulitzer–prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith;
Hollywood producer Kit Golden; and famed
cinematographer (and father of actors Zooey
and Emily) Caleb Deschanel.
• In just a few short weeks, our visual art
program will arrive and the campus will be
transformed into one giant art gallery. Our
facilities team builds walls where walls do
not exist and the classrooms in College Hall
and Noble become display spaces. Often the
green does as well. And the T.W. Wood Art
Gallery becomes home to the graduating
show. The work is always fascinating and
thought-provoking. I look forward every
winter and summer to seeing all of it.
• Our bookstore is open most days during
residencies and is worth a visit. Tons of cool
VCFA gear—from clothing, to coffee mugs,
to computer bags—is available. And of
course, the store offers books by faculty,
alumni and visiting writers.
Finally, one of our goals when we started
VCFA was to bring the campus closer to the
community and the community closer to the
campus. Information on all public events is
available on our website. Write Kelley Bordeleau at kelley.bordeleau@vermontcollege.
edu if you would like to be on our mailing
list. And drop me a note anytime at
[email protected]. Let us
know how we’re doing.
Thomas Christopher Greene is a novelist
and the founding president of Vermont
College of Fine Arts. His essays appear
monthly in The Bridge.
• Copies: Black & White, Color
• Digital Printing
• Engineering Copies
• Business Cards
• Laminating
• Binding
• Shipping: FedEx, USPS,
& other carriers
• Packing
32 Main Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
Ph: (802) 223-0500
Fax: (802) 223-4689
Email: [email protected]
Hours: M–F 8am–6pm
Sat 9am–1pm
THE BRIDGE
JULY 15, 2010 • PAGE 23
Business and Real Estate
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Set on over a half
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A traditional design with the dining
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229-0345 • HeneyRealtors.com
A Trusted Name In Real Estate Since 1956
PAGE 24 • JULY 15, 2010
Classifieds
EMPLOYMENT
PART-TIME JOURNALIST. Specialized publisher seeks experienced journalist for Montpelier office, up to 16 hrs. per wk. Background in
real estate, law, taxes, or legislation preferred.
Compensation based on experience. Application deadline July 21. Send letter, resume and
writing samples to: Editor, Vt. Property Publishing, P.O. Box 1564, Montpelier, VT 05601.
Vermont College of Fine Arts is seeking a temporary maternity leave replacement for the position of ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT. The
successful candidate must be available for 12
weeks (beginning approximately in mid-September) for 20 hours per week and 1 weekend
(Oct. 2-3). Responsibilities will include Board of
Trustees meeting preparation, routine scheduling, phone and e-mail communications, and
other administrative duties as assigned. Candidate should have excellent communication
skills, be well organized, proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite and be able to maintain
confidentiality. To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and references to Kelley Bordeleau
Lamb, Assistant to the President, 36 College St.
Montpelier, VT 05602 or via e-mail at [email protected].
HOUSEKEEPERS WANTED. Vermont College of
Fine Arts is seeking two people to help clean
dorms and office buildings from June 26th-July
21st and July 30-August 8th. Interested parties
should contact Tony Bean at 802-828-8732.
FOR RENT
ONE OFFICE AVAILABLE in a great space in central downtown Montpelier! Non-Smokers only,
please. Natural light, freshly painted in non-toxic
paint. High-speed internet available on a complimentary basis. Bathroom en suite. Second floor,
stairs only. $290/mo., utilities included. First 2
months @ 275 per month, if rent is paid on time.
Security deposit + 1st and last month’s rent. 2236772 or [email protected].
FOR SALE
ELECTRIC BIKE. Moped style, good condition.
$525. Comes with rechargable battery and
adapter. Call 802-595-1366.
SERVICES
QUALITY PAINTING, RESIDENTIAL REMODELING AND REPAIRS. Interior / Exterior. Excellent
local references. Stuart Morton 802-229-0681.
corsica @sover.net.
HOUSE PAINTER. 20 years experience. Small
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High-fructose corn syrup–free plumbing
Fred Blakely
Plumber
272-3818
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If you or loved ones are burdened by the
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THE BRIDGE
THE BRIDGE
JULY 15, 2010 • PAGE 25
PREVIEW: Shakespeare’s Masterpiece of Dysfunction
Unadilla Takes on King Lear
by Roberta Harold
A
difficult aging parent. Ungrateful children. Sibling rivalries. These family
dynamics are familiar in all our lives,
but when they play out among royalty
against the background of an entire kingdom, the consequences are tragic, devastating and universal. Throw in fratricide, eyegouging, multiple adulteries, a mad scene in
the midst of a thunderstorm and one of the
slickest villains in literature, and you have a
compelling theatrical experience.
King Lear, which many hold to be the
fullest expression of William Shakespeare’s
genius, is in rehearsal at Unadilla Theater
under the direction of veteran Tom Blachly.
In its fairy tale–like opening, an aging king
decides to divide his kingdom among his
three daughters, but first puts them to a fatal
test: which of them loves him the most?
Lear’s faulty judgment of their responses,
which results in the banishment of those
who really love him, leads to the unraveling
of his sanity, his family and his kingdom.
“Whenever I expose myself to this play, I
feel in awe,” Blachly says. “I have the same
reaction to it that I did when I saw Michaelangelo’s statue of David in Florence—how
could one human being have created this?
We can’t all go to Florence, but as players
and audience we have access to the great
gift of King Lear many times.”
Finding a cast with the chops to handle
Shakespeare’s language and complex characters was the show’s key hurdle. When
Blachly tapped long-time Shakespearean and
former professional actor Donald Rowe,
who played and directed Lear in 2000 as
head of the Champlain College theater program, he had the keystone of his cast.
Rowe, who will turn 70 on one of the
show’s performance nights and whom the
Los Angeles Times compared favorably to
Ian McKellen and Oscar-winner F. Murray
Abraham for his depiction of Salieri in
Amadeus, mused on the 10-year interval between his earlier and his current depiction
of the old king’s journey from spiritual blindness to tragic enlightenment.
“No matter how long you live,” he says,
“retirement is a final passage in life. In the
opening scene, Lear retires, just as I’ve done
recently. My own experiences of aging and
loss—including the death of a friend who
had played my daughter Goneril—have deepened my interpretation of the character.”
King Lear is one of theater’s great showcases for villains, who are an actor’s delight.
It’s clear from watching Aaron James that
he’s having a great time playing the juicy
role of Edmund the Bastard, one of Shakespeare’s most ingenious and engaging bad
guys. “It’s fun to be evil,” James says. “Evil
characters have fewer limitations than good
ones—when they want something, they just
go for it.” James was recently seen as Sebastian in Twelfth Night and last year as the
troubled Eric Birling in Rowe’s production
of An Inspector Calls.
“I haven’t played anyone quite so focused
on going after what he wants,” James says of
Edmund who, as the illegitimate son of the
Earl of Gloucester, stands in the shadows of
nobility and has only his native intelligence
to help him rise to power. He uses people’s
weaknesses against them, turning his father
against his legitimate brother Edgar and then
betraying the Earl to Lear’s wicked daughters, each of whom he seduces in an attempt
to gain the kingdom for himself.
Villainy is an equal-opportunity proposition in King Lear. Susannah Blachly and Janice Gohm Webster, as the ugly sisterhood of
Lear’s daughters Goneril and Regan, have
each played some of Shakespeare’s delightful
heroines: Blachly as the ingenious servant
Maria in Twelfth Night and the wronged
queen Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Webster as Rosalind in As You Like It, and Titania
in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both are
enjoying the transition to darker characters.
“I like finding all these people in myself,”
Blachly says. “They live in all of us. . . .
There’s something cathartic about getting to
be bad—a license to let out my shadow-self.”
Webster says of Regan, “This is a good opportunity to play a villainess, and not to portray her as purely evil.” As a professor of English at Champlain College, she has read and
taught the play for decades, but learning it in
a performance setting adds multiple new dimensions.
There’s nothing wimpy about the good
guys in King Lear, either. His youngest
daughter, Cordelia, played by Lauren Patterson, another Unadilla veteran (Emily in Our
Town, Muriel in Ah, Wilderness!) tells her father the truth he doesn’t want to hear but
forgives him after he casts her off.
King Lear (Donald Rowe) carrying Cordelia in a 2000 production at Champlain College.
The upcoming Unadilla production, directed by Tom Blachly, will once again feature
Rowe as Lear. Photo courtesy of Donald Rowe and Tom Blachly.
Lear’s son-in-law, the Duke of Albany,
played by Shakespeare veteran Vince
Rossano, finally wakes up to his wife’s
treachery with this devastating line: “O
Goneril, you are not worth the dust which
the rude wind blows in your face.”
Russ Brown is well known to local audiences for his supremely comedic turns as
Malvolio in Twelfth Night and the bombastic
Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor. As
the loyal and devoted Earl of Kent, has the
chance to hurl what must be the ultimate
string of Shakespearean insults at Goneril’s
servile steward Oswald, whom he vilifies as
“a knave, beggar, coward, pandar and the
son and heir of a mongrel bitch,” among
other colorful epithets.
Well able to stand on the receiving end of
this diatribe is 11-year-old Adam Blachly,
who has more Shakespearean acting under
his belt than many actors five times his age.
In real life the son and heir of director Tom
Blachly and singer-songwriter wife Susannah, Adam has performed in The Winter’s
Tale, Twelfth Night and most recently in the
title role of Hamlet. He won critical praise
for his depiction of Dill in Lost Nation Theater’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
Indeed, this dysfunctional-family drama is,
in Unadilla’s hands, very much a family production. Besides the three Blachlys, there’s
ADVERTISE!
Call 223-5112,
ext. 12 or 13.
Grayson Webster, winner of statewide high
school acting awards, playing Cordelia’s husband, the King of France, joining his mother
Janice on stage for the first time. Ian Young,
recently seen in Twelfth Night as the hapless
Sir Andrew Aguecheek, plays the heroic
Edgar, son of the Duke of Gloucester and ultimate inheritor of the troubled kingdom; his
father, Peter Young, who played the jester
Feste in Twelfth Night, takes on the eyegouging Duke of Cornwall, Regan’s dastardly
mate.
Clarke Jordan (Falstaff in The Merry Wives
of Windsor and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth
Night) as the tragically deluded but loyal
Duke of Gloucester; David Klein (Master
Ford in The Merry Wives) as Lear’s all-toowise Fool, and Vinny Broderick as the Duke
of Burgundy round out the veteran cast.
Russ Brown’s final line as Kent sums up
Shakespeare’s imperative to the Central Vermont audience: “My master calls me, I must
not say no.”
You won’t want to say no to this one.
King Lear plays at Unadilla Theater in
East Calais at 7:30 p.m. on July 27, 29,
30 and 31 and August 1, 4, 5, 7, and 11.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for ages 12
and younger. Reservations at 456-8968,
[email protected] or www.unadilla.org
SAT/PSAT Camp at Montpelier
High School with Jake Feldman,
state-certified secondary instructor
9 Years SAT Experience
Sun., Aug. 1: test, 5–9 pm
Mon., Aug. 2: class, 5–8 pm
Tues., Aug. 3: class, 5–8 pm
Wed., Aug. 4: test, 5–9 pm
Thurs., Aug. 5: class, 5–8 pm
Fri., Aug. 6:
class, 5–8 pm
Sat., Aug. 7:
test, 9 am–1 pm
Text, tests, and online support
provided $250
Contact Jake at (802) 279-6020
or [email protected]
PAGE 26 • JULY 15, 2010
THE BRIDGE
Remembering Susan Russell
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
Celebrating the 100th,
Celebrating the 50th
T
wo anniversaries, two immensely significant achievements, here at midsummer 2010.
The Green Mountain Club
All this year, the Green Mountain Club has been marking
the 100th anniversary of its founding on March 11, 1910.
James P. Taylor is generally acknowledged as the inspirational genius behind the idea of the Long Trail and the Green
Mountain Club—a trail through the Green Mountains connecting peak to highest peak from the Massachusetts border
all the way to Canada.
Now, 100 years later, through the sustained, hard work of
the Green Mountain Club and with the help friends and volunteers, Vermont has that trail almost entirely secured both
for today and for future generations.
In his foreword to the impressively written, edited, and
designed 190-page fully illustrated centennial history of the
Green Mountain Club and the Long Trail, a book titled A
Century in the Mountains, writer Bill McKibben puts the
case for the purity of the hiking experience in Vermont’s
Green Mountains.
In the fight to save the natural world—the whole
world—from environmental crises bearing down
upon us, it’s necessary to remember just how deeply
important places like the Long Trail really are. Not
just for relaxation, not just for recreation, not just for
scenery—but for allowing us to remember who we
are. Allowing us to feel small again in the face of the
large forces of wind and weather. Allowing us to feel
young, and properly insignificant, in the face of ancient granite and massive shaggy yellow birch. . . .
Here at The Bridge as we join the club in marking its first
century, we want to acknowledge the men and women who
created this book, with special mention of editor Dave Blumenthal. We sadly note Dave’s recent death in a mountain
bicycle racing accident. Dave’s role in producing this book
was indispensable.
The Nature Conservancy
Just as remarkable in its own way is the 50th anniversary
this year of the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. The recent publication of the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Chapter’s handsomely illustrated guidebook
Places to Walk, Paddle and Explore in Vermont fittingly
celebrates the fifty years of achievements.
What of these achievements?
Beginning in 1960, the Vermont Chapter began to identify and then to protect the most remarkable samples of the
state’s natural diversity beginning with Molly Bog as the
Chapter’s first acquisition in 1962. Molly Bog is a 30-acre
kettle hole bog in Morrisville.
Now, 50 years later, the Vermont Chapter has protected
183,000 wild acres, in more than 450 tracts, at over 1000
sites around the state. These wild acres are more exactly described as: bogs, swamps, marshes, ponds, creeks, lakefronts, forests—astounding place of natural and biological
diversity.
Closest to us here in Montpelier are two marvelous,
though quite different, natural areas:
The first is Chickering Bog, just 15 minutes from Montpelier’s State and Main Street intersection.
The second is the hike to the summit of Mount Hunger in
the nearby Worcester Range, a mountain climb of 2.8 miles
along the blue-blazed Middlesex Trail. The trail begins at a
point less than 10 miles from Montpelier.
Congratulations to the Green Mountain Club and the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. None of these
natural assets were preserved by accident. None of them in
the years ahead will continue to be protect without our vigilant and unremitting commitments.
To obtain a copy of A Century in the Mountains, please
contact the Green Mountain Club by phoning 244-7037 or
by going online to www.greenmountainclub.org.
To obtain a copy of Places to Walk, Paddle and Explore
in Vermont please contact The Nature Conservancy, 27
State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, or phone 229-4425 or
go online to [email protected].
by Nat Frothingham
A
t a community event on Saturday afternoon, July 10,
family members, friends and neighbors gathered at
the Old West Church in Calais to remember, honor,
affirm and celebrate the life of Susan Russell who died on
December 19, 2009 at the age of 66.
From a seat in the meetinghouse, you could hear the
sounds of children at play outside. Through the front windows, you could see two or three horses in a green field. Beyond the green fields were tree-covered hills.
As her husband, Jack Russell, later told me in a phone conversation, Susan was born in Baltimore. She lived in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. During a period when it was a women’s
school, Susan attended Green Mountain College in Poultney.
She was also a student at Goddard College and she took a degree from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. Later,
Susan became a certified art teacher.
As part of the Old West Church community gathering, family and close friends talked about Susan. They talked about
her personality, her enormous creativity, her risk-taking, her
passion for art, her caring and ability to reach out to people.
“You always knew where you stood with Susan,” one
woman said. To a guest in her home, she could say, “It’s time
for you to go home.”
Her daughter Heather said that life with Susan was “one
wild ride” that included “fires, floods, car troubles, always
moving to a new house.”
Describing her mother as “this complex woman,” Heather
went on to say, “She would challenge the way things are. She
saw the potential around her. She wanted everyone and herself to be perfect. If she was hard on others, she was harder
on herself.”
Her sister, Lindsay Middleton, said that Susan had the
“humor gene” in the family.
Her son Erik spoke feelingly about his mother’s role in raising his sister and himself. He felt his mother gave him protection and nurturing. “She was proud and stubborn. She
was also very giving, very honest, open. In high school,
when he lost a tennis match for a place on the varsity team,
“She chewed out the coach,” he related.
At a very tender moment, Erik said, “I’m not afraid of death
because of the way she went through it.”
“I am not afraid to die,” is what Susan had told her daughter Heather during her final days. “There were fears along the
way,” Heather said.
Speaking with emotion, Heather said, “I cannot comprehend how much she loved us. I am so honored to be the
daughter of such an inspiring artist. Her soul was connected
with the land around her.”
In that phone conversation with her husband, Jack, he
talked about Susan’s role as a mother. When she and her first
husband separated after the birth of their second child, it
was Susan who raised the children by herself. She waited on
tables. She was a secretary. You could tell from the sound of
Jack’s voice how much he admired this gutsy, creative
woman.
Jack talked about Susan’s natural affinity for people on the
street. Many of these people were clients she was working
with at Washington County Mental Health. “I was in awe of
it. She met them where they were.” She didn’t talk down to
them. “She met them where they were. She respected them,
honored them, learned from them. She could get people out
of their homes and into the community.
“Later, Susan was a volunteer driver for Washington County
Mental Health. She took these clients to their appointments.
Got them out for coffee. Got them meeting other people.”
Summing up, he said, “The people she worked with were devoted to her. She was devoted to them.”
Many people remember Susan during a time when she ran
Lots of Stuff in a space along River Street in Montpelier. Long
before recycling and re-use became the current rage, Susan
understood that low-income people who were trying to get
fresh start in their lives had a need for basic furnishings. You
could walk into Lots of Stuff and Susan would help you get
what you needed to set up housekeeping.
Susan and Jack met in August 1992 at About Thyme Café,
an eating place on State Street in Montpelier. As they began
to see each other, her mother told her, “It will never work
You two are so opposite.”
Jack Russell was a graduate of Norwich University. He volunteered for Vietnam. He also described himself as “an entrepreneur, a visionary, a creative person.” He stayed in the
U.S. Army Reserves and retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Today, he’s deeply involved in leadership training and organizational development.
Talking about the nay-sayers who had predicted their relationship wouldn’t work, Jack said, “On the surface they were
right.” But that was only the surface. “Underneath,” Jack
said, “we had common values. Deep spirituality, a love of the
land and Vermont. We are both creative in our own ways,”
he said. “Jokingly, we both used to say that we were sleeping with the enemy.”
What was between them both, in fact, did work and
worked extremely well.
“She met my military colleagues,” Jack said. She came to
realize, “Wow, these are good, normal people—really dedicated people.” And Jack said, “I didn’t have a problem crossing into her world.” He didn’t have a problem with a “backto-the-land woman who was a former student at Goddard
College.
Art and the pursuit of art and art as a path leading to a spiritual life—this was a central theme of Susan Russell’s life.
After she closed Lots of Stuff in 2001, Jack persuaded her to
pursue her art. Jack gave her the house she never had, the
vegetable and flower gardens she never had. “She was a
strong feminist. So instead of saying that I would support her
while she pursued her art, I told her it was an investment. I
expected her to start selling her art. She could live with
that.”
“She went at it,” Jack said about his wife. “She cranked on
it. She did 346 abstract paintings. I would say that during the
past 10 years her art really blossomed. You can see her evolution from the 1990s. She also had a remarkable ability to
walk into an art gallery and say, ‘Here I am.’”
The protocols, of course, were a given. You send your
slides and wait.
Sometimes Susan followed the protocols. Other times,
“She just walked in. She knew how to kick in the doors.”
Susan also knew that in getting her art into a gallery “it only
takes one yes.”
After the gathering at the Old West Church, family, friends
and neighbors repaired to the Kent Museum for refreshments and an exhibition of Susan’s art that filled five or six
rooms.
In one room Susan exhibited a series of paintings that featured door arches and transportals—doors that were taking
the viewer into a different space. Susan believed that life is
much more than what we see with our eyes. “Creating art is
seeing the invisible truth within.”
Speaking on Saturday afternoon at the Old West Church,
friend and State House Curator David Schutz had said that although Susan called herself an emerging artist, “She was a
real artist. Her visual legacy was incredibly powerful.”
Susan’s art was abstract. She created “built canvases” using
acrylic paint and working with wood, thread, sand, sticks,
strips of metal and other found objects.
In a short artist statement in one of the rooms at the Kent
Museum, Susan described her progress as an artist, moving
from smaller to larger things. She wrote about starting with
smaller canvases and graduating to larger ones.
“I am wanting to go larger based on multiple requests,”
she wrote. Then she added. “I love colors, I love texture, and
I am still struggling with structure.”
As the memorial celebration at the Old West Church drew
to a close, Jack Russell offered these remarks.
About Susan, he said, “Our love was deeper, broader as we
went through this journey together. Our love continues to
flow on like an endless song.”
To the people who had gathered on that Saturday afternoon, Jack said, “I speak for Susan, the family and ourselves
about our profound gratitude for your support. If anyone
wants to know what community is, come to Vermont and especially to Calais.”
THE BRIDGE
JULY 15, 2010 • PAGE 27
Opinion
AIDs and Mono
The Red, White and Blues of Green Revolution Agriculture
by Gerard Renfro
When you believe in things you don’t
understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way.
—Stevie Wonder
A
griculture is a mess, although it does
not have to be. So, with respect to
food reformers and local farmers who
are trying to fix the mess, I submit the following criticisms of modern agriculture.
First is my belief that the problems of agriculture stem from the earliest origins of our
culture. Ever since hunter-gatherers abandoned paradise and started farming, a part of
our mind has been at odds with the natural
world. This fear/domination mentality has
stayed with us for ten thousand years, even
when we rediscovered paradise in the New
World.
New England farmers who migrated west
wreaked havoc on the environment, planting the seeds for the institutions and problems that plague us to this day. These include a contempt for “inefficient” manual
labor, large scale farming and chemicals for
insect control, animal cruelty, wasted fuel
for long range transportation, and the use of
food for prestige instead of health (such as
red meat and white flour). Also the creation
of our USDA/land grant university system,
the development of the “risk vs. benefit”
legal systems that allow low levels of toxins
to permeate the environment, and even the
problems that many states now have with
immigrant labor all have their origins from
these early years.
After having built a strong industrial base
by the mid 1900s, and having survived the
World War II intact, our country was in relatively good economic shape for expansion.
Under the guise of “feeding the world” massive amounts of tax dollars (that’s your
money) were funneled through government
entities like the Agency for International Development (AID) and used to buy equipment
and chemicals from U.S. manufacturers with
the objective of growing produce to be controlled by U.S. distributors.
The process took different forms in different countries but with the same result. In
the Philippines and Mexico, old systems of
quasi-feudal land possession (a system left
over from Spanish rule) made it easy to influence wealthy land owners to grow commodity crops like rice or wheat. Brazil was
particularly abused. Religious groups, the
AID, private “humanitarian” organizations
like the Rockefeller Foundation, and the
Committee to Intervene Anywhere (also
known as the CIA) worked to either relocate
the indigenous Brazilians or exterminate
them. In the process the rain forest was destroyed to raise commercial crops and cattle.
Needless to say, the third world has not
benefited from our influence. One result of
large scale commodity crop production
Letters
(usually a single food type, hence the term
monocrop) is the loss of local food production and with it the loss of nutritional diversity. An obvious result of this is a condition
known as VAD—vitamin A deficiency—
which has hit some Asian countries particularly hard.
Ironically, or perhaps justly, our own
farmers have not benefited from our destructive methods of agricultural intrusion.
In fact, some farmers have stated that conditions are comparable to those of the great
depression. The impoverished state of farms
in the U.S. is one of the reasons why modern
farms need cheap immigrant labor.
The mistakes made during this agricultural
effort (known as the “Green Revolution”)
are bad enough, but what is truly disturbing
is the 21st-century solution to the mess we
created—biotechnology. As someone who
has been following the biotech debate since
1999, I am amazed at the rationalizations
being used to promote agricultural biotech:
• Insects are not developing resistance to
genetically modified BT corn any faster than
they would to conventional chemicals. To
the uninformed this may seem trivial, but to
organic farmers this is a nightmare scenario.
It is an admission that insects are developing
a resistance to BT, which means that organic
farmers will lose an important method for insect control.
• We need the new technology to help
feed the world. This is nonsense. The USDA
has already admitted that the Green Revolution was about calories, not nutrition.
Clearly the world is better off growing its
own locally diverse food.
• U.S. farmers have decided to export 40
percent of this country’s commodity crops
to other countries, and they need biotech as
the best agricultural tool available. The reality is that farmers are desperate for any support they can get, and commodity crops get
subsidies, so that is what farmers grow.
• Without these helpful technologies
being sent to other countries, farmers like
those in Brazil will resort to slash and burn
tactics for subsistence. This is a particularly
odious lie. Indigenous subsistence (not commercial) slash and burn tactics allow the affected area to return to a tropical forest state
after a few years of mild agricultural use. Furthermore, throughout South America, indigenous peoples are trying to reclaim and
rejuvenate the forest environments that
were damaged by our intrusions.
Biotech is merely an over-glorified admission that our attitude toward agriculture
and nature is founded on ignorance. A successful method of agriculture is not in found
the monocultures of AID-type programs. It is
found in the efforts of small indigenous
groups throughout the world who produce
their food locally with respect to their community, the common laborer, and the environment.
Universal Access: Local Food for All
The Bridge acknowledges these letters with thanks:
A letter from Warren Kitzmiller, in which he appeals to the Montpelier community
on behalf of Lost Nation Theater to help find short-term housing for a number of actors and tech people who will be working with Montpelier’s Lost Nation Theater over
the next few weeks. Those in need of housing are contributing directly to Lost Nation
Theater and deserve help. Anyone who can provide living accommodations (and
“within walking distance” is a requirement for many of these visiting tech and acting
people) is asked to contact Kathleen Keenan at Lost Nation by calling 229-0492.
Then, two letters—deeply appreciated—from people associated with Naval veterans of the U.S.S. Montpelier who paid their last official visit to Montpelier during the
Fourth of July observances. Specifically, we thank Don J. Ohrt from the U.S.S. Montpelier Association for his letter of thanks. We also thank Don McCormick, Commander
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Brown-Johnson Post 792 in Montpelier for his letter
acknowledging the special significance of the recent visit from U.S. Navy veterans of
the U.S.S. Montpelier.
Amendments and Corrections
Irene Farrar
In the paper’s June 17 issue, we failed inadvertently to acknowledge under “Teacher
Retirements” on page 9, the teacher retirement of Irene Farrar. Ms. Farrar served for
31 years in the Montpelier School District. She was the guiding light behind the
Crafter’s Edge program at Montpelier’s Main Street Middle School. Founded in 1982,
Crafter’s Edge gave Middle School students the opportunity of running their own business. Among other activities, students put on schoolwide dances, and operated a diner
at the fair that served breakfast and lunch. These activities taught students how to
work together as a team, run a business, exercise their entrepreneurial gifts, and participate in charitable giving. Crafter’s Edge will continue as a legacy to Ms. Farrar’s
years of service at the Main Street Middle School.
Anna Schwarz
On page 8 of the June 17 issue of The Bridge we noted that this coming fall senior
Anna Schwarz will be attending Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. At Elon, Ms.
Schwarz plans to study Exercise Sports Science, and please note, this is a four-year, not
a two-year program. Indeed, Elon is a four-year liberal arts university. We regret these
errors.
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
Send your letters and opinions to [email protected].
S
ince its inception in 1987, Food Works (now Food Works at Two Rivers Center)
has sought to broaden the local food economy by reaching out to people who generally cannot afford to buy locally grown food.
These include families of low and moderate income, children at risk of hunger and
inadequate nutrition (children served by the free and reduced school lunch and breakfast programs), the elderly living on fixed incomes, and community members with disabilities.
Food Works pursues its mission of universal access to healthy, locally grown foods
through diverse educational programs teaching the fundamentals of growing, preparing, preserving and eating fresh local food; and through two initiatives directly addressing the issues of production and distribution:
• The Two Rivers Farm, which is growing 12,000 pounds of root crops for area food
shelves this year through funding from the Central Vermont Community Action Council;
• The Farm-to-Table program, which purchases over $100,000 of produce from area
farms and distributes it to a diverse range of programs and institutions that include senior meal sites, schools, and community care facilities such as the Central Vermont
Medical Center and Project Independence.
Combined, these two projects aim to meet the “triple bottom line” of a successful
long-term regional food system. First, such a system provides a decent living for
famers. Second, it is ecologically sustainable. Third, it is socially responsible.
—Andrea Stander
PAGE 28 • JULY 15, 2010
THE BRIDGE
It’s SUMMER!
Adult and Youth Hats
$699
Bonide Natural
Mosquito Beater
$1379
Made from essential oils of
citronella, cedar, lemongrass and
geranium. Also contains garlic.
Works for up to 3 weeks.
East Calais, VT
SUMMER 2010
THE GONDOLIERS
by Gilbert & Sullivan
July 15, 16, 17 • 7:30 p.m.
✶ ✶ ✶
Vermont
Soap
Company
Insect Armor
$599/4 oz
UNCLE VANYA
(Unadilla children)
by Anton Chekhov
July 24 & 25 • 2 p.m.
✶ ✶ ✶
We also
have . . .
KING LEAR
by William Shakespeare
July 27, 29, 30, 31; Aug. 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11 • 7:30 p.m.
✶ ✶ ✶
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED
by J.B. Priestly
Muck Boots!
Aug. 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 • 7:30 p.m.
✶ ✶ ✶
MIXED NUTS
by Jim Hogue
Aug. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31 • 7:30 p.m.
FOR RESERVATIONS
HOURS: Mon–Fri, 8–6; Sat 8–5
AND
INFORMATION:
456-8968 ✶ [email protected] ✶ www.unadilla.org
Support the businesses that invest in
the health and vitality of our community.
We Compost!
Our food waste
will become food
for the soil.
These businesses and
schools have:
drastically cut their greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to NOT
burning over 100,000 gallons of gas
per year; and
contributed to your community’s
food system and your community’s
local economy by rescuing 1,116
tons of food scraps and having them
recycled into nutrient-rich compost.
A program of the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management
District
www.cvswmd.org
Barre Town Elementary School
Berlin Elementary School
The Black Door
Blue Cross & Blue Shield Cafeteria
Capital Candy Company
Central Vermont Catholic Schools
Central Vermont Medical Center
Convenience Plus Redemption & Deli
DJ’s Convenience Store
Dunkin Donuts Barre
Dunkin Donuts Montpelier
East Montpelier Elementary School
Espresso Bueno
Family Center of Washington County
GU Markets of Northfield
Hannaford South Barre
Heaton Woods
Hunger Mountain Coop
Julio’s Restaurant
Kismet Restaurant
La Brioche Bakery &Café
LACE Café
Langdon Street Café
Lucia’s Italian Restaurant
Main Street Middle School
Montpelier High School
Montpelier Senior Meals Program
National Life NECI Cafeteria
NECI’s Main Street Grill
Norwich University
Pinky’s Deli
Positive Pie Montpelier
Positive Pie Plainfield
Red Hen Baking Company
Restaurant Pheobe
Rumney School
Sarducci’s Restaurant
Shaws of Montpelier
The Skinny Pancake
Spaulding High School
State House Cafeteria
Twinfield Union School
Uncommon Market
Union Elementary School
Vermont College NECI Cafeteria
Vermont Food Bank
Vermont Gluten Free Co.
The Wayside Restaurant
Westview Meadows
Windridge at Teela Wooket
Woodridge Nursing Home