Falls Guy

Vermonter Dean Goss is an expert on the world’s cascades

When his time comes, Dean Goss, 42, knows exactly where he wants his ashes scattered: on the waterfall at Bristol Memorial Park on Route 17. That’s where Goss got his first taste of an airborne stream 40 years ago. "I am a little kid walking down the path," he remembers, "seeing the falls starting on the lefthand side of the path and coming toward a pretty impressive footbridge over a very deep gorge." (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008falls-guy

Wiggle Room

Greensboro Bend’s Wacky Worm Sisters wax on the ins and outs of fertilizer

Packed in quart-sized Baggies, the stuff looks rich, crumbly and decidedly illegal. But the label states otherwise: It’s nutrient-rich humus, a.k.a. Premium Quality Worm Castings — the end product, literally, of thousands of red worms, also known as red wigglers, tiger worms, manure worms, stink worms, fish worms, dung worms, fecal worms and striped worms. (Click link below for complete story.) http://www.7dvt.com/2008/wiggle-room

Kitchen Kitsch

You’re at a craft fair, poking through sundry handmade goods, when Sarah Green’s vibrantly colored textiles grab your attention — aprons, potholders, pillows, bags, coasters. But wait, back up. Those are no ordinary potholders. They’re works of art: three layers of sweatshirt material sandwiched between new and vintage fabrics at front and back. And, yes, they’re "eco-friendly," made mostly from recycled cloth. But it’s the images on the fabric that catch your eye. These are definitely not your grandmother’s potholders. Or even your mother’s. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008/kitchen-kitsch

Kale for Sale

Bo Muller-Moore’s green-scene design goes viral

It’s catchy, quirky, cryptic, trendy. It also leaves people scratching their heads. Eat More Kale?

In the past five years, these three words — in their distinctive, stubby black typeface — have become part of the central Vermont landscape, culture and vernacular. You’ve seen them printed on T-shirts, and on round green bumper stickers affixed to the backs of cars and trucks. Go to a website called eatmorekale.com, and you can even purchase the motto on an organic cotton onesie for your bouncing baby. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008/kale-sale

A Cinderella Story

On most mornings, tiny handprints smudge the display window and front door of Shaline Bridal. Little girls, says owner Shaline Kirkpatrick, are fascinated by bridal gowns — the daily deposit of fingerprints is proof, and she’s happy to see them at her Montpelier shop. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008/cinderella-story

Abenaki Cultural Center Opens in East Montpelier

Were it not for Todd Hebert’s Geronimo T-shirt, beaded-and-fringed buckskin jacket, and ball cap that reads, "Native American," most people would take the goateed, 36-year-old Persian Gulf vet for a native Vermonter. Of course, by definition he is: Hebert is one of some 5000 Abenakis in the region. He is also the curator of the new Ndakinna ("Our Land") Cultural Center and Museum on Rt. 2 in East Montpelier, through which he’s determined to educate visitors on all things indigenous. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008/abenaki-cultural-center-opens-east-montpelier

Type Cast

Got a Selectric? Vermont’s sole repairman is key

It was a typewriter with balls — literally. Before the modern miracle of the word processor, no self-respecting secretary could live without an IBM Selectric typewriter, with its revolutionary golf-ball-like, rotating typing element. Heavy-duty, state-of-the-art and putty colored, the machine’s industrial silhouette has graced millions of desks around the world. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2008/type-cast

Dead Reckoning

A Vermont casket maker thinks inside the plain wood box

Richard Winter’s pine prototype rests against the wall of his East Calais workshop — a massive, 7-foot-tall, wide-shouldered hexagon, and home sweet home for all eternity. There’s no mistaking this baby: It’s your classic Dracula-style coffin. But to Winter, a cabinet and furniture maker with 28 years under his tool belt, it’s like any other piece of furniture. Since 2000, he’s crafted and sold about 10 caskets as a sideline — called Vermont Coffins — to his woodworking business.

(Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2007/dead-reckoning-0

Victrola’s Secret

A spin doctor keeps old music makers alive

St. Johnsbury’s Rod Lauman lives in a three-story, yellow 1883 house that’s furnished and decorated in a brooding Victorian style. One of his three cats, a white female, is named Victoria.

Within these walls Lauman operates Victrola Repair Service, where he services and sells Victrolas. Yup, those wind-up phonographs with the big horns that make a vocalist sound as though he’s holding his nose while he sings something that invariably comes out "voh-doh-doh-dee-oh-doh" at 78 rpm. (Click link below for complete story.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2007/victrolas-secret

Polly Want a Pooh-Pooh Protector? 

Bird accessories? It’s an idea that could fly

There’s something bird-brained about Susan Golden’s side business. And that’s a good thing. Under the company name Golden Perch Bird Supply, the 43-year-old Plainfield woman has launched a line of bird accessories that address the delicate issue of bird droppings. Or, in not-so-delicate terms, how to avoid being shat on when Polly is perched on your shoulder and handle it when you are. (Click link below for complete article.)

http://www.7dvt.com/2007/polly-want-pooh-pooh-protector

Scarfin’ Slices in the 802

Suddenly, the world knows about Montpelier pizza

”We’re down with that.” That was press secretary Jason Gibbs’ would-be-hip reply when The New York Times asked him whether his boss, Governor Jim Douglas, had seen a certain little YouTube video called “802.” In the viral clip, three Montpelier High School juniors who call themselves X10 put the milk-and-maple state on the hip-hop map with their tongue-in-cheek rhymes. (Click link below for complete article.)

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/food/food-features/2007/scarfin-slices-in-the-802.html

Where NECI Students Nosh...

when they’re not slaving over a hot stove

For some people, eating out is a chance to turn the brain off and enjoy. Not so for Lauren Daigle, 19. “My family actually makes fun of me when they bring the bread basket. If I know it’s a restaurant that makes its own bread, I’ll sit there and critique the bread,” she says. “Yes, I do sit there, and I analyze the bread.” (Click link below for complete article.)
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/food/food-features/2007/where-neci-students-nosh.html

Where There’s a Grill, There’s a Way

Following short orders at the Wayside Restaurant

The parking lot at Berlin’s Wayside Restaurant is usually jammed with cars, but it’s dark and deserted at 5:15 a.m. when Randy Spaulding pulls in, parks his car and lets himself in the back door of Central Vermont’s beloved, trend-resistant family restaurant. This job, which he’s had off and on for almost 30 years, doesn’t care how late he stayed up the night before; one hour from now, as the sun begins to rise, the first customer, ticket #1, will be waiting at the front door. (Click link below for complete article.)
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/food/food-features/2007/where-theres-a-grill-theres-a-way.html

Crunch Time

With granola, Montpelier caters to hungry, hungry hippies

Montpelier has always had a “crunchy” reputation, but research — in the bulk-bin section of the Hunger Mountain Co-op — suggests it could very well be the Granola Capital of the World. Within 10 miles of the Statehouse, three enterprising food producers are making granola on an industrial scale: Butterfly Bakery, Nutty Steph and the Manghis. Their combined annual output? Around 30 tons. That’s roughly 7.5 pounds of granola for each of Montpelier’s 8,000 residents.
People have strong feelings about granola. Some swear by it. Others scoff. (Click link below for complete article.)

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/food/food-features/2007/crunch-time.html

LARC ARENA, MORRISVILLE, SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 3, 9 A.M. – NOON

“Just wait until Tuesday,” said curling instructor Brian Brgant, 52. “That’s when you’ll feel it.” He was talking about the muscle pain resulting from our first-ever curling lesson.
For two hours the red team — Sasha, 25; Ray, a 73-year-old optometrist with a plastic hip; and one horribly out-of-shape reporter, 54 — crouched on its collective haunches, learning how to launch a 42-pound granite missile across the ice. We also ran up and down — more of a mincing little backward jig, actually — the playing “field,” sweeping frantically along the way.
“Why do we sweep?” asked our other instructor Mike Sitko, who resembles a young Rich Little. “To reduce friction,” he explained patiently. “The stone goes farther and straighter.” (Click link below for complete article.)

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/calendar/scene.html 

PAVILION AUDITORIUM, MONTPELIER, THURSDAY,

APRIL 12, 2 P.M.