Tillie Walden of Norwich was sworn in by Governor Phil Scott during a legislative meeting as Vermont’s Cartoonist Laureate. In attendance were representatives from Norwich and Thetford celebrating the appointed Norwich resident as the fifth person ever to hold this prestigious title. The Cartoonist Laureate title is very special to Vermont, as it is the only state to regularly appoint someone to this role that includes a three-year term of creating art for the state.

Walden is a cartoonist and illustrator who currently teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction. The bulk of the lessons in her comics class are on how to make a ‘good comic,’ including writing and drawing techniques. Her sold-out 2023 summer class entitled “Queer Comics” is an in-person workshop where students not only will learn about creating comics but attend a workshop specifically for the design of queer comic stories. “It’s a really delightful class,” Walden said. 

Walden now succeeds Rick Veitch of West Townshend, who was appointed in 2020. Since the 2011 appointment of Vermont’s first Cartoonist Laureate, Burlington resident James Kochalka, the Cartoon Laureate has been tasked with creating comic depictions of noteworthy events happening in the state throughout their three-year term. 

Walden had heard of the Cartoonist Laureate position previously, noting that “There is a big drawing entitled ‘The Seal’ by Ed Koren (the state’s second official Cartoonist Laureate) at the Center for Cartoon Studies, so it sounded official but I never would have expected it [for myself].”

Walden was really surprised to be selected, and said, “It’s a huge honor and I am very excited about the next three years of cartoons, getting to collaborate with the VT Humanities and make comics about life in Vermont.”

Walden has been making comics for over ten years and has published more than ten books, many of which have been award winners or nominees for outstanding achievement. Some of her most notable graphic novels include Are You Listening?, which earned Walden the distinction in 2018 as the youngest winner of the Eisner Award – she was only 22 years old – the first of two Eisner Awards for her. This graphic novel was also nominated as a Harvey Award winner in 2020 for “Book of the Year”, one of the most prestigious awards in the comics industry.

Her professional works also include a trilogy entitled Clementine, which is set in the apocalyptic Walking Dead television series universe. The story finds a pair journeying toward an abandoned ski resort in Vermont (which may be our very own Killington!).

Another recent book project came about rather randomly, about four years ago, according to Walden. The Canadian indie pop duo, Tegan and Sara, were writing a middle grade graphic novel and asked Walden to illustrate the book, titled Junior High. “I said yes immediately!” Walden recalled. They began work on the story during the pandemic. “They were lovely to work with. Both Sara and Tegan really trusted me to do my thing, make edits, and interpret the words in my own way,” Walden said, “They made my job easy, though; their script was so full of heart and laughter.” Walden is now working on a second book with the duo.

One may be surprised to learn that Walden’s graphic novel and childhood memoir Spinning, published in 2017, has since been banned in some southern states, including Texas, where Walden was born. The book is a coming-of-age tale that chronicles Walden’s years as a competitive ice skater, navigating romance, bullying, trauma, and coming out. Walden expressed that “It’s disappointing, weird, and upsetting to keep these stories away from kids, especially since they have done well critically.” Referencing her own life as an open book, Walden has found a strong calling to create works highlighting queer themes and depicting queer characters. 

Walden wholeheartedly commends Norwich and Thetford for being such a wonderful and welcoming community for her growing family. Walden is married to cartoonist Emma Hunsinger and they are expecting the arrival of Walden’s first baby. The couple co-created and published a children’s picture book last year titled My Parents Won’t Stop Talking! So while Walden is preparing to take on a new role with the State as a working artist for the three-year term, she is also beginning the lifelong adventure as a parent.  

Awards

A collection of Walden’s awards to date also include Best Graphic Album-New A Chicago Public Library, Best of the Best Book of 2019 by National Public Radio (NPR), Best Book of 2019 by O Magazine (Oprah Magazine), Best LGBTQ Book of 2019, One of The Comics Beat’s Best Comics of 2019, A Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and also she has been a Harvey Award nominee for Best Book of the Year, On a Sunbeam.

Upper Valley Trails Alliance Builds Accessible Trail in Milton Frye Nature Area

With mud season having come to a close, it’s time to start hitting the trails! And one newly renovated trail that you may wish to choose is the accessible trail created by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance (UVTA) in the Milton Frye Nature Area next to the Marion Cross School.

Russell Hirschler, executive director of UVTA, says, “There’s been a big push over the last few years or so for putting in accessible trails for people with any kind of mobility issues, older people who just need more places to have a sure-footed kind of walk, or families with strollers and kids.”

UVTA, a regional organization based right here in Norwich that serves over 43 communities all throughout the Upper Valley, coordinated with the Marion Cross School and the Town of Norwich to create the new accessible trail, built on an existing trail.

Hirschler says, “In order to do any kind of trail, you need willing partners.” And in this case, Marion Cross School and the Town (which owns the conservation land but has a cooperative use agreement with the school district) were excited to be a part of this project and brought the idea to the UVTA, who are known as a leader in the field for creating affordable and accessible trails – especially near schools.

Hirschler is finding more and more accessible trails being installed near schools. “Schools are always trying to get their kids outside, especially during the time they were utilizing the outdoor classrooms to a tremendous extent,” he says. Not only was an easily traversable trail to an outdoor classroom important for all students, but with a recent influx of families to Norwich – some with children who have mobility issues – the accessible trail has been particularly vital.

The school district raised the money to create the trail and worked in tandem with the Town to bring the project through the Planning Board and Development Review Board phase. The permits were issued, and about a year and a half from the initial idea and site visit, the team was getting to work on creating the trail.

While the process to approve the trail took some time, the actual build took around a total of two weeks. “It’s a lot of moving rock,” Hirschler laughs.

The UVTA staff – a team of four including Hirschler – worked together to build this trail. In the summers, UVTA runs a program called the High School Trail Corps, which recruits and works with students from high schools all over the Upper Valley. However, as this was a fall build, this trail was a four-person project. “Oftentime, our small staff is scattered in every direction doing lots of different things, and this was one of the few trail projects where all four of us were out there working together. It was a really great team effort,” Hirschler says.

Part of that effort was to get the trail down before they had snow and frozen ground, which created a good team challenge, Hirschler says. Sure enough, the trail was completed just before the first snowfall in November of 2022. “We scraped the last bits of gravel off the edge of parking log, pulled our machines out of there, and then it snowed,” Hirschler recalls.

The accessible trail created by Hirschler and his team converted a dirt trail into what they call a “hardened trail” that has a stone dust or hard-pack on top. The trail is created with three layers. First is a base layer of course gravel that gets compacted down to make it tight. “With stones that are all angular and jagged, when you push them down next to each other, they lock in place,” Hirschler notes. Next comes a middle layer of geotextile cloth, which separates the bottom and top layer materials. The cloth keeps dirt and mud from coming into the upper layer of the trail and keeps weeds and other plant life down. Finally, a top layer of the aforementioned hard-pack. This is also compacted down, and the result is an easily navigable surface that is still permeable so water can run through it, unlike with asphalt or concrete where water runs off the surface.

In addition to a more easily traversable surface, an accessible trail must have limited slopes (the team aims to have slopes of 10% grade or less). The guidelines for these trails are similar to those found in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hirschler and his team have just recently been back to work on the trail this spring, having asked folks to primarily stay off the trail during mud season. As the trail is right next to downtown off of Main Street, they’re very excited to have people using the trail regularly. “There’s a sense of joy,” Hirschler says, “You build a trail that’s also accessible to a certain segment of the population – anyone who normally wouldn’t be able to go on a footpath with rocks and twigs, branches and roots, or that has uneven ground or is too steep, and then to see those persons using the trail with a smile on their face… To put these trails in place for people is a joy.”

On top of this, it’s always wonderful to see elementary school kids out in the woods in a wild area with lots of big trees and wildlife, Hirscher says.

While the building of the actual trail isn’t all that difficult, getting all the pieces together to be able to build them is much harder, Hirschler says. And the fact that more communities – such as the school district and the Town of Norwich – are investing in these trails is tremendous and shows the value in it.

Equitable access is one of the fundamental principles on which UVTA is built and guides their work: “No matter what kind of trail user you are and what physical abilities you have, there’s a trail for you somewhere close to home,” Hirschler emphasizes. 

The investment in trails and recreation infrastructure that saw an upward trajectory during COVID has by no means slowed down, Hirschler says. The UVTA currently has lots of ongoing projects where they’re implementing the building techniques they’ve learned creating accessible trails. “With more heavy weather-related events – windstorms and rainstorms and all those kinds of climate-change related activities – the better and more sustainably you build the trail initially, the longer it’s going to last.”

The thing that makes Hirschler and the UVTA the most excited is the community investment in improving local trails: “We always say it’s great to have aspirations to hike in the Notches in the White Mountains or summit Mt. Mansfield or Camel’s Hump in the Greens, but really the most important trail is the one outside your back door or down your street. That’s the trail you’re going to use the most.”

UVTA is busy building and has no plans to slow down. Hirschler says, “We’re going to build trails and we’re going to get young kids and older people and anyone in between who needs helping getting into the woods to get out there.”

Upper Valley consumers relish locally grown, raised, and produced food items. One need only visit the Norwich Farmers Market on a Saturday morning in the summertime to realize how true that is. Knowing where and how the food we consume is raised and comes to market is becoming vitally important for more and more people every year.

Local food producers have responded to this trend. Producers and growers such as the Robie Farm in Piermont, Root 5 Farm in Fairlee, Crossroads Farm of Post Mills, Sunrise Farm of White River Junction, and our own Honey Field and Sweetland Farms here in Norwich, respond to consumers’ needs and wants with a variety of local meat, cheese, and fresh produce offerings.

Historically, Vermont has a renowned reputation as a dairy-producing state. And despite the fact that the number of dairy farms has declined in the state in recent decades, locally produced dairy products are widely available to area consumers, thanks in part to one Norwich dairy enterprise.

The Norwich Farm Creamery (NFC) operates out of the historic Norwich Farm, a long-time dairy farm in Norwich, on Turnpike Road. The managers and partners in the farming endeavor are Laura Brown and Chris Gray. Their Creamery leases its facility from and works in close cooperation with the non-profit Norwich Farm Foundation (NFF), which owns the Norwich Farm.

In 2022, the NFF bought the Norwich Farm from the Vermont State Colleges, with the purpose of it developing into and remaining a self-sustaining agricultural asset for the community.

The NFC began operation in 2017, with the goal of producing and selling local and sustainable dairy products to the Upper Valley community. “The Norwich Creamery focuses on fresh, pasteurized dairy and we appreciate that everything we make each week is sold and consumed within a thirty mile radius of the farm,” explains Laura Brown.  “Feeding our community directly is so rewarding. Each week we make and sell about 750 individual items, which are in turn feeding thousands of our neighbors.”

A series of responsibilities shared between the co-manager couple are what make the Creamery a success. “We are a small-scale Grade A creamery…We do everything between the two of us. Chris hauls the milk, processes it in the creamery, and delivers to our customers,” Brown says. “Laura takes care of a lot of the packaging, all the sales, marketing, and books, and runs our farm store. We also have a (Richmond Middle School) 7th grader, our daughter Gigi, who is our all-around backup system and milk crate washing specialist,” Chris Gray adds.

Though Norwich Farm has a history of dairy operations, no dairy herd exists on the site at present, and the NFC relies on milk for its products from another Upper Valley farm – Billings Farm in Woodstock.  “When we found ourselves without an on-farm milk supply, we reached out to Billings Farm and Museum, home to a legendary dairy herd,” says Brown. “Their Jersey breed cows are fed a grass-based diet and are impeccably well cared for.”

This working relationship with Billings Farm benefits both operations.  “The Creamery adds value to the raw milk by processing it and marketing it. Part of this value is then returned to Billings in the form of an above-market premium that we pay for the raw milk.”

The taste derived from the Billings cows is an added benefit. “The high butterfat from this herd gives our products their delicious flavor,” Brown says.

 Being closely associated with the Norwich Farm Foundation, the Creamery is also involved in numerous community and educational volunteer efforts. “We pour hot cocoa at the MCS (Marion Cross School) skating party, scoop ice cream at the Women’s Club concert on the green, and are full-time at the Norwich Farmers Market,” says Brown. “We have hosted students from King Arthur Baking and will be having a Hanover High School class visit in March. We ran a ‘milk-to-school’ pilot program with MCS in the past, which is something we want to build on in the future,” she adds.

The future of the Farm is of paramount importance to both the Farm Creamery and the NFF.  For it to remain a sustaining agriculture entity – and serve as a community and educational asset – is the overarching goal of all involved. A major component of that goal is returning the Farm to a dairy-farming operation. “Over the next five years, we will be increasing our processing infrastructure and bringing back a working herd of cows. The goal is a milking herd of twenty cows, which means keeping about forty animals on the farm,” says Brown.

Being sustainable depends on an economic plan that works. “When we process all that milk directly through the on-farm creamery and sell it locally and regionally, then the financial model works. That means this farm system has a long-term future,” Brown adds.

Fundraising was critical in coming up with the initial down payment for the of the Farm, and remains so for its long-term goals. The Norwich Farm Foundation continues fundraising efforts through grant applications, a GoFundMe campaign, and community outreach. A visit to their website, (norwichfarmfoundation.org), will bring you up-to-date on their plans, goals, and fundraising opportunities.

As far as the Norwich Farm Creamery, one can find their products at area stores such as Dan & Whit’s, at the Norwich Farmers Market, and at their Farm Store at 701 Turnpike Road. The self-service store is accessible to customers at any time of day. Besides their own dairy products, the store features produce, meat, cheese, and dry goods. Norwich Farm Creamery products are either, “All from local,” Brown says, or “The best in the world we can get.” 

Vital Communities, the non-profit organization working to cultivate the civic, environmental, and economic vitality of the Upper Valley, was recently awarded a $200,000 New England Food Vision Prize for a multi-partner project. The Food Vision Prize aims to build resiliency, relationships, and capacity within New England’s farm-to-institution supply chain.

“This project will create a stable market for local producers, open stable sales channels for BIPOC producers, increase the amount of local ingredients in our institutions, and strengthen our local economy,” Vital Communities director of food & farm and economy, Nancy LaRowe, of Norwich, said.

The project came together when long-time Vital Community Upper Valley Everyone Eats partner, Global Village Foods – an African-inspired prepared food producer based in Quechee –  brought the idea of applying for a Food Vision prize to Vital Communities. Already sourcing from local farms for their UVEE meals, Global Village Foods realized they needed more and different equipment and a partner to help connect with local farms.

With this awarding of the prize, Global Village Foods will now have the means to produce meals at a large scale for institutions, starting with the University of Vermont, with food grown in New Hampshire and Vermont.

“We’re super excited because we have always tried to source our ingredients locally,” said Mel Hall, owner of Global Village Foods along with his wife, Damaris. “As we begin to rebound from the pandemic, this grant enables us to grow from a small regional specialty brand to having national potential, and to carry those local growers with us and offer them a guaranteed revenue stream.”

One of the local growers partnering with Global Village Foods is our own Honey Field Farm run by Eli Hirsch and Valerie Woodhouse, a 35-acre family farm located on Butternut Road in Norwich on the site of the former Killdeer Farm.

Making their start in Spring 2020, Hirsch and Woodhouse came to Norwich from Fairfax, VT looking to grow their small organic farm. They’d been searching for the right spot to take their business to the next level and found their ideal location at Killdeer. “We were excited to move to this community. It seemed like a community that was already really supportive of local agriculture,” Woodhouse said. The Norwich community has lived up to its reputation. “[The community] has been 5000% supportive,” she added. “[They’ve] really rallied to help us get on our feet and show up at the farm.”

It was at a Norwich Farmers Market that Valerie and Eli met Mel. Mel was sharing the Global Village Foods project with vendors, and Honey Field Farm’s wholesale veggie operation fit exactly into what Global Village Foods was looking for. This past September the two food-providers started working together.

“We’re definitely excited to work with them. We love working with food processors and local makers,” Hirsch said.

One of the reasons Hirsch and Woodhouse love working with food processors is the predictability of the market. “Every week since we began working with Global Village Foods, they’ve been buying 50 pounds of spinach. It’s something we know is going to happen and we can plan for it in advance. It is a huge relief to have stability and consistency. We can go into next year knowing the crop we plant has a home.,” Woodhouse said.

Honey Field Farms has been supplying Global Village Foods with scallions and spinach this fall and intends to plan more crops for the upcoming season with Mel and Damaris over the winter.

Beyond the stability provided by their partnership with Global Village Foods, Hirsch and Woodhouse appreciate the ability to widen their farm’s market. “We really like any opportunity we have to put more Vermont food into the regional foods system beyond our local relationships.” In addition to supplying our local coops and markets, Hirsch said. “We really appreciate when we’re able to send our food to other communities, other states, and other parts of the food system.”

Honey Field Farm’s food will be doing just that as it travels north with Global Village Food meals to the University of Vermont dining halls as part of Vital Communities Food Vision prize project.

When you search for a family that has its roots deeply embedded in the soil and community of Norwich, it’s hard to find a better example than Fred, Paul, and Abbie Metcalf. Without fanfare, the three siblings supported the village of Norwich in a medley of ways for most of the 20th century.

The Metcalfs grew up on a farm on Dutton Hill Road, named after their maternal great-grandfather Daniel B. Dutton, who purchased the land in 1834. The farm was also worked by their grandfather, John Dutton, and their father, Otis Metcalf.  Otis came from South Royalton to work for John Dutton in 1886 and married the farmer’s daughter, Hattie, three years later. After they married, the couple moved to the Jericho district of Hartford, where Paul and Fred were born, but they returned to work the Dutton farm in 1901 after the death of John Dutton.

Fred was born on January 4, 1890, and was ten years old when his family moved to Dutton Hill. From a young age, he enjoyed the beauty of his home. He was the first in the family to spot a rainbow and talked of the eastern hills as “my hills.”  “One night when I was seven,” Abbie recalled, “Fred saw Haley’s Comet in the sky. He woke me and took me out to see it.”

Along with his fondness for nature, Fred had an early interest in music. His mother had a reed organ when he was a boy, and Fred used to stand on one foot to reach the keyboard and pump with the other foot. As a youngster, he vowed to the Congregational church organist in Norwich, “When I grow up, I’m going to play that organ.” As Fred grew older he learned to play the organ at his grammar school and had a few formal lessons.

The only person opposed to Fred’s musical pursuits was his father, who once cracked, “Fred might amount to something if he’d let the damned music alone.”

Paul and Fred attended Norwich grammar school and began high school in Hanover. Fred would have liked to pursue additional musical training but when their father couldn’t find hired hands to help with the farm work, he took them out of school.

When Fred left school he didn’t abandon his education. According to Abbie, “He had his nose in a book all the time… and did all the farm work, roofing, and carpentry and helped mother.”

“Fred was a fellow who really didn’t like the farm,” wrote longtime neighbor Fred Johnson in a remembrance of Fred. “(He) did his job and filled his place. At the same time, he had this artistic side of him that he was trying to develop and keep alive.”

According to Abbie, “He always said that the only use he had for a horse was to hitch him up and go to church or a concert over to Hanover. He didn’t care especially for horses but he knew how to handle them as much as anybody needed to.”

After their father died, Fred and Paul split the chores on the family’s 150-acre farm. Fred cared for the cows, worked in the field, and did house chores. Paul tended the horses, managed the machinery, and gardened. Fred did most of the cooking and “gained a reputation for his biscuits.” For over twenty years he baked a loaf of bread that was used in the communion services at the Congregational church.

In addition to his work on the farm, in 1915, Fred started to play the organ at Saint Barnabas Church, where he played until 1950.  In 1920, Fred became the organist for the Congregational church, a position he held for 48 years. The dollar Fred received for each service he used to pay for harmony lessons at Dartmouth with the chairman of the music department, Dr. Phillip Clapp.

Sundays were active times for Fred. The Episcopal service was at 9:30 a.m. and the Congregational service began at 11:00. When he finished with his first job, he’d fly across the common and arrive just before 11:00, toss his overcoat onto the front pew, and start the music going once more. In addition to the organ he also played the flute and the piccolo with the Norwich Band and sang with the Handel Society at Dartmouth for 40 years.

Along with playing music, Fred enjoyed writing, which most of the time meant writing sermons and composing music for the church. His best-known piece is the Christmas carol, “O Holy Child of Bethlehem,” which is still sung at the Norwich Congregational Church during the Christmas season.

When he stepped down as organist in 1968 he savored his time on Dutton Hill. “My music and my house and my work outdoors are all the things I have time for,” said Fred. “If I play the organ now, I do all that’s in me.” Fred died on December 6, 1980, just a month shy of his 91st birthday.

Paul was born on July 28, 1893, and established himself as the farmer in the family. He enjoyed the work, especially gardening and driving the horses. “When father took hold of the lines, the horses knew somebody was in charge who knew just what to do,” Abbie said. “Paul always wanted to be as good a teamster as his father. And he was, almost.”

But while he worked on the farm he didn’t neglect his civic duties. During World War I Paul was a member of the Vermont National Guard and during World War II he was a member of the Aircraft Warning Service, which set up lookout towers around Norwich. He was a long time member of the Root District Riding Club and often rode a horse in the Norwich Fair parade. But cutting firewood, chopping ice, haying, and running a dairy farm kept him busy every day.

“While words rarely escaped his drooping mustache,” Paul left a clear sketch of himself in the diaries he kept during the 1930s. The diaries were matter of fact, with no soulful introspection. Yet they revealed a man who was precise, thrifty, hard working, devoted to his family, and loyal to his community. They captured the rhythm of the seasons and are true historical treasures. Each entry began with a weather update and then succinctly hit the highlights of the day.

Saturday, February 17, 1934: Fair Sawed wood awhile. Began hauling ice. Ernest Fitzgerald’s truck is hauling it from Armstrong’s over to the foot of the hill. I hauled 3 loads, 21 cakes up the hill with Spike and Gyp and the mules. It is 21’ thick.

Tuesday, December 25, 1934: Cloudy snowed an inch or two. Had a Christmas tree this afternoon. Aunt Abbie came up. Mrs. Barrett and Mrs. Jewell came up this evening. Abbie gave me some slippers and Fred gave me 5 dollars.

Friday, October 15, 1937: Cloudy. Moved some hay in the horse barn… Put up the haying tools again. Pulled the beets & put them down cellar. Picked the Hubardstone apples. 1 bu. Apples, 2 bu. beets.

Thursday, June 27, 1938: Rain. Had the last of my upper teeth out. 5 of them. $5. Hoed a row & a half of corn. Had peas for supper.

Tuesday, October 4, 1938: Fair. Fixed fence above the corn. Chased Mary’s cattle out twice. Patched the horse barn roof some. Went to a chicken pie supper at Grange Hall and choir meeting.

Tuesday, March 7, 1939: older, windy, squalls. Went to town meeting in the new Town Hall.

After a busy life on the farm, Paul died on October 11, 1966, at the age of 73.

While Abbie sang the praises of her brothers whenever she could, she too led a vibrant life. On July 21, 1903, one week before Paul’s 10th birthday, she was born in the house on Dutton Hill, where her mother was born 40 years earlier. She was named after her father’s sister, a trained nurse, who made sure that “Little Abbie grew up strong and healthy, after recovering from a rattle in her lungs the summer she was ten. But plenty of fresh air, day and night… As well as a pet collie with whom to explore the farm helped in the recovery of her health.”

Abbie attended the Norwich public school and Hanover High School and then veered away from her rural upbringing and attended Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1927. During her college summers she waited tables at a hotel and often came home to work on the farm. “Father needed me to drive (four horses) for haying and paid me $100.” In 1930 she attended the Columbia School of Library Science and finished in 1931, “the year before it was decided to issue a Master’s Degree.” She was a librarian at the North Adams Public Library in Massachusetts for the next ten years. 

In 1941 Abbie returned to Norwich. Her parents and her aunt had all died and “Fred and Paul were glad to have me home!” But it became clear quickly that there was not enough to keep Abbie busy on the farm. After a short stint at the Howe Library, she went to work as a librarian at Dartmouth’s Thayer School for the next 26 years. When she retired from Thayer she became the librarian at the Norwich Public Library for nine years, while being the curator of the Norwich Historical Society. With her “extra” time she was a clerk at the congregational church. As for the farm, although for 50 years the Metcalfs sold milk to H. P. Hood in Boston, when she retired they only pastured cows on their land. “We’ve kept the stables cleaned out in minus 40 degree weather as much as we wanted,” Abbie said.  Abbie died on July 23, 1990, at the age of 87.

A short time before Abbie’s passing, 300 items from the Dutton house and barn were auctioned off. A 200-year-old high chest of drawers – a highboy, made from yellow birch and white pine, woods native to the area and held together with wooden pins rather than nails – was put up for bid. The highboy, judged by the auctioneer to be in almost perfect condition with no broken legs or signs of repair, was sold to the Shelburne Museum for $22,500, about $50,000 today.  It’s easy to see the extended devotion Fred, Paul, and Abbie had for the Norwich community. But the highboy was an obvious clue as to how the siblings cherished the Metcalf ancestry and their family home on Dutton Hill.

Upon entering Tammy Heesakker and Greg Russo’s circa-1961 mid-century modern Norwich home, it’s no surprise that it won a national Design Award of Excellence in November last year.

The Walter and Sylvia Stockmayer House, poised discreetly and elegantly atop a hill on Overlook Drive in Norwich, is an example of a “Usonian” style home, a design term coined by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to describe what was originally intended to be simple and organic design that warranted an affordable price point for families. The same mid-century modern homes that are widely sought-after today were at one time – in the not so distant past – built by the dozen to address the post-war need for affordable housing. 

Now, in 2022, this delicately renovated residence pays beautiful homage to mid-century era design and architecture, enough so that it caught the attention of State Architectural Historian Devin Colman, who nominated the Stockmayer House for a Docomomo US ‘Modernism in America’ award several months ago.

Colman, who calls the home “very forward thinking for its time,” says Heesakker and Russo’s efforts to restore the home to its original architectural glory “really stood out to (him) as being exceptional.”

The Stockmayer House, which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of only twelve projects receiving a Modernism in America Award in 2022. According to Docomomo US, (a nonprofit organization whose name stands for “Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement”), this particular award recognizes preservation work ranging from “the transformation of large-scale projects into beacons of sustainability” to “modest home revitalizations.”

Designed by Allan J. Gelbin – an apprentice of  Frank Lloyd Wright – the home was commissioned by Walter Stockmayer (a former professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College) and his wife, Sylvia. Since then, the home has been rented and then sat on the market for a summer before Heesakker and Russo purchased it in a near tear-down state in 2015.

With a caving-in roof and other structural issues posing challenges by the mid-2010s, the only hope for the Stockmayer House was “very sensitive, thoughtful interventions” by its new owners, Colman says. “It’s a great example of taking an existing building that needs a little love and bringing it back to life.”

“The house was in bad shape,” Heesakker remembers, though “the bones were good.”

“You could tell right off the bat that the house needed a roof,” Russo adds. “That was for starters. Once you took the roof off, there were lots of surprises under (it).”

Despite being first-time homebuyers and unfamiliar with the surrounding community, Heesakker and Russo made the confident, yet daunting decision to become the next generation of owners for the Stockmayer House just over seven years ago.

Besides being one of the few local properties on the market at the time, the pair chose the Norwich home because they appreciated its style and saw its potential, even in its rough state.

“For better or for worse, we thought, ‘well, if we could fix it up we’d be happy here’,” Russo says, whose appreciation for mid-century modern architecture and design first emerged during his childhood.

A poster of Fallingwater – a famous architectural feat of Frank Lloyd Wright located in Pennsylvania – started it all.

“I just became interested in him… his philosophy and the style,” Russo says.

“When we walked in (to the Stockmayer House), I recognized the style right away,” Russo says. “I knew there was some sort of connection to Frank Lloyd Wright; I didn’t know anything more than that.”

The Stockmayer House features Usonian design concepts like one-story living, no basement or attic, an open carport, concrete slab flooring, natural wood materials, built-in furniture, and simple and sleek rooflines. The tucked-away front door, tight and cozy entryway and dimly lit narrow hallways give way to an open and bright living room, with high ceilings, skylights and large windows, and plenty of space to move around.

According to Heesakker, what stands out most about Gelbin’s design is the thoughtful “form follows function” architectural approach. Gelbin and other architects of the time held equally high standards for aesthetics and purpose, leaving clients with a finished product both beautiful and functional to call home. Elements like built-in bedroom closet storage and a pass-through connecting the kitchen to the dining area and living room eliminate the need for extra clutter and unnecessary space. Upon moving into the Stockmayer House from Boston, “we had a lot of furniture that we either didn’t have a place for or didn’t need,” Heesakker says.

While performing research for the renovations, Heesakker and Russo stumbled upon Gelbin’s design papers for the Stockmayer House, which had been donated to the Art Institute of Chicago after the architect’s death in 1994. The pair took a trip to see the records in person, where they scoured them for information to help guide their project.

“Some of the stuff that we found in the archives were sort of like the specs: the processes they used to make the floors for instance,” Russo says, explaining that the method which Gelbin employed to create the classic Usonian red slab flooring is not the same as what most contractors would follow today.

Honoring the original design of the home has proved tricky, but not impossible. According to Heesakker, finding knowledgeable and willing tradespeople quickly emerged as one of the most difficult challenges.

“It’s just not what they’re used to doing,” she says.

For such a simple theoretical design, their modernist home doesn’t meld all too well with the efficiency of contemporary construction techniques. For example, in many cases, it would be much less of a hassle to simply replace elements of the home with up-to-date materials, rather than restoring them or remodeling them to preserve their authentic history.

Materials for remodeling and routine maintenance are hard to track down. Many are discontinued or not readily available to consumers since the ’60s.

Though Heesakker and Russo’s top priority throughout the renovations has been to create a comfortable and beautiful living space while also honoring the original design of the space as Gelbin intended it.

“We needed to live here and we wanted it to look nice,” Russo says. “I don’t think I ever thought that we would live in a house that would garner attention.”

Major components of the four-year renovation project included installing a new roof, remodeling the carport, a new septic system, exterior painting, and other updates to old and failing features throughout the home.

A few more intricate projects involved specially-crafted replicas of custom original light fixtures and fragile lamp shades, along with the red Micarta kitchen countertops – a building material that’s harder to come by these days, and not cheap. 

“It was obvious that there were going to be multiple projects; however, I don’t think it was obvious how many there were,” Russo says. “There’s always more to do.”

In the near future, the pair plan to fortify the single-pane windows to improve insulation in the home, and tackle other projects such as a bathroom remodel, solar panel installation, and outdoor landscaping.

The Stockmayer House also bridges the balance between work life and home life, with a short commute to Dartmouth Health where Russo works as a radiation oncologist, and a welcoming atmosphere to relax in after a long day.

When friends and family come to visit, “they come for relaxation,” Russo says, finding it easy to take a restful break in a home whose architecture already exudes that kind of atmosphere. A recent visitor took note of the soundproofing that the solid floors and walls provide. “You can’t hear people walking around,” Heesakker said. “It’s very peaceful for that reason.”

The Norwich Historical Society’s online exhibit, Mad for Mid Century Modern, documents several modern Norwich homes – including the Stockmayer House – as well as the history of modernist architecture throughout the community.

Gelbin even designed and built a house for himself on Norwich’s Hopson Road in 1973 – known as the “Allan Gelbin House” – where he lived until ’77.

Recently, the Norwich Historic Preservation Commission has nominated several homes for National Historic Register status, and has designated fifteen modern homes in the Hopson Road neighborhood as a ‘National Historic District’. Preserving the history of these homes not only serves to appreciate their unique and beautiful design; it also brings people together and provides an opportunity to learn about a rich history right under our noses.

The Stockmayer House’s application for the Docomomo US award was “a chance to showcase on a national level a really great modernist house in Vermont,” Colman says, noting that in other places around the United States, it’s a common misconception that Vermont is all “old” and harbors no modern architecture. “Our benchmark is 50 years or older as a starting point to evaluate a historic property,” Colman reminds. “That comes as a real shock to some people.”

“It’s nice to be recognized for taking care of something,” Heesakker says.

“It’s interesting learning how to live in a house like this,” she adds. “It’s kind of like living in a museum… living in art,” says Russo. “It’s also just home.”

Sometimes people go after their chosen careers and, as Erin Tunnicliffe, senior vice president for institutional advancement at Berklee College of Music and Norwich resident of 20 years, knows, “sometimes career choices come to you.”

In Tunnicliffe’s case, the career that found her is fundraising for Berklee College of Music, where she works with her colleagues to identify philanthropic opportunities for the school, build compelling cases for support, and help the team of fundraisers connect to the donor community. Tunnicliffe helps the school raise funds that enable direct support for students such as the Thrive retention scholarship that sustains student support throughout schooling or the K-12 community program “We Have City Music” in Boston.

While Tunnicliffe never dreamed of ending up in philanthropy, she can see what may have lead her to success in this field. “I always wrote my thank you notes,” Tunnicliffe recalls with a laugh, “If I go back in time and think about what prepared me as a kid, my mom instilled in me that after any gift you say thank you.” Tunnicliffe’s parents were both public school educators and although she was raised in a family of relatively modest means, she says, her parents were extremely generous with what they did have and that had an impact on her.

The path that brought her to development has been a circuitous one. Tunnicliffe worked as a strategy consultant in marketing after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and obtaining her MBA from the Tuck School of Business. While she found the people with whom she worked compelling, the day-in-day-out of what she was doing wasn’t a phenomenal fit.

Working out of Boston at the time, Tunnicliffe often visited the Upper Valley, interviewing students at Dartmouth for her firm. “I found myself wanting to come back to the Upper Valley; something took when I was here,” she recalls. So when she was offered a position in the career office at Tuck, she took the job. Tunnicliffe remembers her hesitation considering how much she’d invested her education into a consulting career but was compelled by the thought of helping students find their path.

Tunnicliffe felt ready for a change again several years later when the Dean asked her to assist with a capital campaign. She had never considered fundraising, but the Dean had confidence in her based on her knowledge of Tuck and the relationships she had built running the career office. “I trusted him and took the leap. Oftentimes career choices kind of come to you, and there is this sense of, ‘What is the downside? If I try this, what might I learn?”

“Sometimes these opportunities are put in front of you. Sometimes people are really planful and they have their sights set on something and other people, when something comes up, they know when to act.” 

This mindset came into play again after Tunnicliffe concluded her career with Tuck and was running her own advisory business. She was receiving a lot of attention from search firms, and one particularly thoughtful scout caught her interest. He had a gig for Tunnicliffe with Berklee, which needed an interim to fill a vacancy while a new role was crafted. Not only did Tunnicliffe say yes to taking on the interim position, Berklee ultimately offered her the role: “I had learned enough about Berklee and the role to say yes.”

“Berklee itself is just wildly compelling,” Tunnicliffe says, “It’s just such a special place.” Tunnicliffe first knew the school by reputation. CODA, a film deeply connected to Berklee both in plot and behind the scenes with music and production contributions from students and alumni, had recently won best picture; Tunnicliffe felt particularly connected to the film as her father was a hearing child of deaf adults. She soon learned there was even more to appreciate about Berklee beyond this. “My screen for working for another institution was that it had to be excellent at whatever it did, and Berklee certainly is.” She adds, “It also needed to have a commitment to inclusiveness and access.” Berklee, she felt, provided that access as an institution serving a broad population where students are accepted on their ability: “It is young people who have raw talent.”

At Berklee, Tunnicliffe is again able to help young people find and follow their pathways, “Berklee allows young people who have a passion to connect it to their education and to a career aspiration, from tech to production to performance. It enables young people to see a path and get some guidance.”

Tunnicliffe’s passion for Berklee is intertwined with her love for music. While not much of a musician herself – “I say I have a perfect voice for singing alone in a car,” she jokes – she has a deep appreciation of music that stems from having musicians in the family, such as a stepmother who was an elementary school music teacher.  Tunnicliffe grew up taking lessons in piano and flute – “the required childhood stuff,” she laughs, but now takes on the role of the superfan.

Being immersed in this musical environment very much has its perks. In Tunnicliffe’s first week in the role as SVP, Berklee gave Ringo Starr an honorary degree. Tunnicliffe was just a few strides away from Starr as he spoke and hopped on the drum set to give an impromptu performance of his music.

Even cooler than that, Tunnicliffe says, was the event at a little house party in Los Angeles where Berklee gave an honorary degree to Joni Mitchell, one of Tunnicliffe’s personal heroes. The event highlighted Berklee’s Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice; students and alumni performed jazz renditions of Joni’s music. “Joni was just so appreciative,” Tunnicliffe recalls, “She said, well I wish my parents could see this,’ and it was really sweet. People show such reverence so that was really special.”

This was early in Tunnicliffe’s tenure so she gives all accolades to her team. The one contribution for which she takes credit is the personalized beret – a signature accessory of Joni’s – gifted to the songwriter. Rolling Stone picked up the beret story and Tunnicliffe jokes that “she was basically in Rolling Stone.”

Beyond the encounters with iconoclast musicians, Tunnicliffe finds one of the best parts of the job the amazing talent of the students whom she supports. She calls out a student group, The Wildmans, who perform American roots music on banjo, fiddle, and guitar. The group recently won the bluegrass “FreshGrass” festival at MASS MoCA. They also performed at a recent board meeting. “This is like no other board meeting,” Tunnicliffe recalls thinking.

“It’s almost silly how many moments I get just in the course of work,” Tunnicliffe says, “We don’t gather without music.”

The Wildmans, she notes, are scholarship recipients, and make her incredibly proud of the work she does. “This is the difference between their being here and not.”

One stipulation of taking on the role at Berklee was that Tunnicliffe was not going to move away from the Upper Valley full-time; she spends a few days down in Boston most weeks. “It lets me be me,” she says of Norwich, “This is my home, and it makes me who I am.” An active runner, hiker, and yoga practitioner, Tunnicliffe and her husband embrace all our area has to offer. “It’s a place that is so innately home to me.”

People often suppose that anyone in fundraising has to be an extrovert, Tunnicliffe muses, but as an introvert, she loves the quiet that Norwich provides so she can come home and be with her family. “It restores me and lets me be able to be out in the world. And,” she adds, “it makes be really efficient when I’m in Boston so I can get everything done and get home!”

Tunnicliffe sees her work as a privilege to help connect people with opportunities for giving that can make a real difference. “It’s not sales, it’s generosity,” Tunnicliffe says, “If I can help people activate that state of being generous and doing something that they care about deeply, well that’s terrific.”

Tunnicliffe has an enormous amount of reverence for the act of philanthropy: “We can all think about a time that we’ve been helpful to someone, and that’s a really beautiful thing. That was the real hook for me.”

A five-mile drive from Norwich along the Connecticut River and a small meander up Route 132 will drop you into a unique portion of Norwich’s history – the hamlet of Union Village, a community shared by two towns and two counties.

Union Village had its start along the Ompompanoosuc River, which begins in Vershire and runs through West Fairlee and Thetford before it joins the Connecticut River in Norwich. The river provided several locations along its banks for the first White settlers to establish water-powered mills. In the 1790s, the Locke brothers erected a grist mill on the “Pompy” about 4 miles from the point where it empties into the Connecticut River. By the turn of the 1800s, John Hall had purchased the mill, and he then added a sawmill. Quite the entrepreneur, Hall also built and managed a tavern in the area and opened the first store. Soon the stage route from Boston, Concord, Hanover, and Montpelier rumbled through the village. With all the success that he brought to the area, the hamlet became known as Hallville.

Hallville had the unique distinction of being divided, smack dab in the middle, by the town line between Thetford and Norwich and the counties of Orange and Windsor. With that division in mind, the name Hallville was dropped. The small hamlet became officially known as Union Village with the opening of the post office in the general store in 1841. Morrill J. Walker,  who was a partner in the store, became the first postmaster.  

The early settlers built a dam north of the village that provided the energy for the mills, and they erected a covered bridge over the flowing water. The water from the dam was led to the mills in a long wooden flume. Each person who purchased land along the river also purchased water rights, but there was a priority system for who could use the water. First on the list was the gristmill, next came the woolen mill with its carding machines, and finally the furniture shop could use water for turning its lathes. By 1851, Phillip Cambridge, the last owner of the woolen mill, where raw wool was turned into cloth, employed 25 to 40 people. In addition, the village had a sawmill, a carriage shop, three shoemakers, a tailor, and a gravestone shop. The businesses were thriving until, after 36 hours of constant rainfall, the flood of 1869 washed away the dam, bridge, and most of the mills.

While the flood of 1869 was a significant blow to the community, a Beers Atlas map from 1877 shows that the area was once again prospering. A bustling general store and post office, owned by the Blasidel family, became the business and social center of the community. According to one resident, “There the men gather in groups to discuss all important topics. And nothing is settled until after it has been thoroughly canvassed on this popular forum.” The storytellers had time on their hands and “took pleasure in repeating their own stories over and over like sailors at sea spinning their yarns.” South of the general store on the Norwich side of the village was a carriage shop, and M. S. Colburn’s Blacksmith Shop and Hall. Along with being the village smithy,  Myron Colburn played a mean E-flat coronet and in 1872 he organized “Colburn’s Cornet Band.”  Members came from various towns, and their uniforms featured lots of silver buttons and plumed hats. They played twice a year for Dartmouth athletic events, at political rallies, and in 1880 took third place at the International Band Tournament held at Lake Memphremagog in northern Vermont.

By 1815 there were enough worshippers in the area that a church was built 2 miles south of Hallville. In 1836 a larger church was built in the village that served both Methodist and Episcopal members. The entire cost of the building was $1,800. The “Centennial Celebration” program from 1936 noted that pews were sold to families to pay for the construction. In 1849 the stewards of the church agreed to raise the preacher’s “allowance” and the church records show that of the six people named as stewards, three were women. “The interest and strength of women’s work here,” explained the Centennial program, “continues to today.” In the early days, the church seemed to be quite formal. “In 1880 it was voted to hold  ‘no entertainment but Christmas in the church’ but behavior patterns changed.” By the 1920s, plays were presented to help pay for “renovation and redecoration.”  “Through prosperity and depression,” concluded the program, “through ‘ups and downs,’ people have rallied to the needs of ‘the little brick church’ and for which she has stood, for a century.”     

Union Village had a one-room schoolhouse, erected “sometime before 1836.” The school was on top of the county line on the river side of the main road. The northern part of the building was in Thetford while the southern half was in Norwich. There was a dividing line of nails through the center of the floor, and according to Ernest Bond, who attended the school, “Norwich children sat on the Norwich side and the Thetford children on the Thetford side.” How strong the division was between the two sides of town is up for debate, but one long-time resident remembered a Thetford vs. Norwich spelling match. “The word that ‘stumped the experts’ was ornithorhynchus (or ni tho rhyn’ chus): An egg-laying mammal with a duck-like bill” (in other words, a platypus). Regardless of any divisions, the two towns shared the expenses of the school.

Because the school hugged the river the only place for a playground was on the road in front of the building. Nonetheless, this was a safe area for recess, “as the road was seldom used and only with horse and buggy.” Perhaps the traffic picked up, for the school was hauled across the road in 1925 and set next to the church. The school closed in 1951 and was sold to the “Pew Owners Association of the Union Village Methodist Church” for $1,005, to be used as a parish house. The building was refurbished and a new kitchen was installed to help with church suppers. As one resident noted, “It seems quite fitting that this schoolhouse should be closely connected with the church there for they always have. I’m sure the little schoolhouse still feels it has its nitch [niche] in the hearts and lives of many people.”

While entirely on the Thetford side of town, the Union Village Dam has had a significant impact on Norwich and its outlying hamlets. Before the dam was built, storms devastated villages along the entire Connecticut River and caused flooding as far south as Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. The November flood of 1927 stands as the greatest natural disaster in Vermont’s history. The flood waters claimed 84 lives, including that of the lieutenant governor at the time, S. Hollister Jackson. More than 1,280 bridges were destroyed, many of which had been built soon after the 1869 flood. In 1936 and 1938, floods turned the Pompanoosuc area near Kendall Station into a lake and washed away bridges and roads in the area. Something had to be done. Dams could not be built on the Connecticut River because it was used for logging and hydroelectric power. So a plan was devised by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s to build a series of dams from Rhode Island to the Canadian border along the Connecticut River tributaries. The Union Village dam site was selected to control the Ompompanoosuc River. The 1,100-foot-long 170-foot-high dam was completed in 1950 and was the largest dam built on any of the tributaries. The project had some negative impacts. Several farms were demolished, grazing pastures were lost, and the dam construction blocked the town road to Tucker Hill, so Route 132 was extended up the hill just before the southern entrance to the village.

Union Village is a beautiful place to visit. Although the village store is gone, the brick church and schoolhouse sit on a small hill and welcome visitors to the village. There are places to picnic and hike near the dam. But the covered bridge is one of the best connections to the past. The current bridge has spanned the river since 1867 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974  It is the longest multiple-kingpost span in the state and rests on original abutments of stone that have been capped in concrete. Walk across it today and you can almost hear the clip-clop of a horse-drawn buggy heading up the hill to Thetford.

For a closer look at Union Village, be sure to join the walking tour of the area next summer led by the Norwich Historical Society..

Since 1983, Hartford-Norwich Holiday Basket Helpers has served vulnerable residents in the Upper Valley. What started as a group of friends getting together to support some families who were unable to celebrate the holidays has since evolved into a robust organization. According to Sue Pitiger of Norwich – one of the current organizers – it was Pat Stark, working for the Town of Hartford, who connected the Hartford community with the Norwich community and created a local yearly event. When Pat retired, Pitiger and others such as Sophia Crawford and Carol Loveland, continued the program.

What makes Holiday Basket Helpers a very personalized project is how families are able to define what their children need. With the help of local schools, a list of candidates is created; families are contacted and asked specifically what clothing is needed and what two toys the child would like. Details are important, too. Holiday Basket Helpers wants to get clothing sizes correct, and kids have color preferences! Pitiger asks families, “Does she like ballerinas?” or “Does he only like blue?”

Holiday Basket Helpers then searches for sponsors for each child, and after sponsors drop off gifts at Saint Paul’s Church in White River Junction, the chaotic fun begins. Sue relishes the busy atmosphere of the volunteers who receive and sort the gifts, making sure the sizes are correct. That’s the key, Pitiger says. No six-year-old wants a size 3T hoodie! “We rely on the volunteers to see that all kids get what they want,” says Pitiger. Families receive a gift card for food and other items. Holiday Baskets Helpers also serves seniors who have been identified through agencies such as Meals on Wheels.

December 10th marks the day when families will arrive at Saint Paul’s to collect their gift bags. A joint effort, Boy Scouts help distribute the bags and Willing Hands provide the produce.

The Holiday Basket Helpers find great joy in what they do. Families have expressed their appreciation for the program in notes of thanks. One former recipient is now a volunteer. Gratitude abounds for so many helping and generous hands – the Norwich Lions Club, the Norwich Women’s Club and the Quechee Lakes Elves, to name a few.

While Pitiger relishes the entire process, there are favorite moments. One is when “Santa” and “Mrs. Claus,” played by Jack Candon and his wife of Norwich, come incognito (in street clothes) to Saint Paul’s bearing gifts. The volunteers let out a knowing laugh at the sight of “Santa.” The greatest thrill comes when the last bag is securely closed and all is set for pickup. “It is a glorious moment!” says Pitiger.

Please consider becoming a sponsor or contributing a monetary donation to Holiday Baskets Helpers (HolidayBasketsVT.org).

Matt Pickell, Food Program associate at the Upper Valley Haven, succinctly sums up the work that the Haven does in five words: “Good deeds happen here daily.”

Completing its 40th year in service, the Haven has long been providing shelter, education, food and other support to those in need and continues to do so every day. “The work here is very tangible,” Pickell said, “People come here, they need groceries and they leave with groceries.”

The Haven began its work in 1980, founded officially in 1982 by a group of five Upper Valley citizens in an old farm building on Hartford Avenue, formerly known as Taft Avenue. “At the very beginning it was all volunteers,” said Michael Redmond, who is in the fourth year of his tenure as executive director of the Haven, “There were no paid staff, and there was a host family for the shelter at the site of present-day Hixon House, the Haven’s adult shelter.” From these beginnings, the Haven has grown to a powerhouse of good in the Upper Valley, serving over 10,000 individuals in the past year alone who were in need of food, shelter, or any sort of helping hand.

Renee Weeks, longtime director of clinical services at the Haven, who now works at the Vermont Agency of Human Services, speaks of the Haven’s work as something special: “There’s a phrase around here that we use in-house and we call it ‘Haven magic.’” She tells stories of serendipitous instances such as when a family might be moving to permanent housing out of the shelter and will be in need of a mattress, and half an hour later a donor will call looking to donate a mattress. It’s not just these sorts of instances that make the Haven special though, Weeks said. It’s also the staff: “We refer to our staff as the magicians of the Haven, because not only is it these moments of ‘Wow, I can’t believe that happened right when we needed it,’ but the staff are doing that work every day.”

In addition to the staff and volunteers, the community at large is a huge part of what keeps the Haven rolling day-to-day. Laura Gillespie, director of development and communications at the Haven, sees that on a personal level in her work of raising much-needed funds for the Haven: “People are so frequently and generously thinking of ways to support our work.” Gillespie shares the story of two little kids coming in with their family to donate $17.46 from their lemonade stand. “It’s a joy to do this work,” Gillespie said, “You don’t have to explain to people why they should give and give generously. They get it.”

During the 2021 holiday season, community support came to the Haven in a big way, as it had for the nine years prior. Each December, the Haven runs its “19 Days of the Valley” campaign, during which businesses around the community donate a portion of their sales to the Haven. This holiday season marks the 10th anniversary of 19 Days of the Valley, which was first known as “19 Days of Norwich” and began with Dan Fraser, co-owner of Dan & Whit’s, when a shopper came in to make purchases to help fill the Haven’s food shelf, which she had heard was nearly empty.

“It got me thinking,” Fraser said. “We’re in the food business, there might be something we could do to help support them (the Haven).” Fraser came up with a simple formula – Dan and Whit’s would donate 1% of their sales during the first 19 days of December toward the Haven’s food shelf program. “Then, we started challenging other businesses to do the same thing,” Fraser said. “This (19 Days) is now the largest fundraiser for the Haven.”

The first business to join in was Diane’s Casual Cuts, a Norwich beauty salon that has since closed. Beginning in 2014, Diane’s Casual Cuts went head to head with another local salon, Andrea’s Hair Studio, in a “battle of the beauticians,” competing to see who could raise the most money to support the Haven through the 19 Days campaign. After three years, the hairdressers joined forces, calling their effort “bonding of the beauticians,” and they raised between $20,000 and $40,000 each year.

“It’s businesses and lots of individuals who give at whatever level they like,” Gillespie said. The funds raised by the local businesses are now also matched by the Jack and Dorothy Byrne foundation and in 2020, 19 Days raised more the $421,000 for the Haven. Now, with participation growing all throughout the Upper Valley, 19 Days was able to collect over half a million dollars during last year’s fundraiser. “I am just so buoyed by this community effort on our behalf,” Gillespie said.

The goal of this philanthropic initiative, Fraser said, is “to encourage people to participate and shop locally and support the Haven.” Since the start of the pandemic, shopping locally has become a popular trend, and it makes sense. Not only does it boost the local economy, but, “we need to rely on products that are closer to home and businesses that are independent, because chain stores can’t necessarily react as quickly (to changes in the economy) as an independent store could,” Fraser said.

Since 2013, the fundraiser continues to grow every year. In addition to the monetary contributions from participating businesses, community support is rallied through a series of fun and motivating events, like the annual Norwich “Turkey Trot” (which serves as an unofficial kickoff to 19 Days), a flash mob of angels and elves at the Ledyard Bridge waving to passing cars, and a pancake breakfast put on by Mascoma Bank. Ledyard National Bank, who usually hosts a grilled cheese lunch during the fundraiser, started a new tradition during the pandemic – collecting votes on which color to dye the bank manager’s hair! “Every year it’s a little crazy…it’s really sort of hokey fun,” Fraser said.

Participating businesses choose to contribute in a variety of ways. They might donate 1% of all their sales, a portion of their sales, or even sponsor an activity to boost the giving spirit that keeps the fundraiser thriving. Some Upper Valley businesses and locales hold contests to collect a certain type of non-perishable food like tuna, tomato soup, or cereal. These types of activities allow the community to come together in support of a common good, and it gives families a chance to “talk about people who need food and what that means,” Fraser said. “The community’s only as strong as its weakest link,” he added. “It just is the right thing to do.”

 “I’m proud of our group, proud of our volunteers, and proud of our community.” Pickell said. Redmond concludes, “There’s just this feeling of everyone pulling together for things that we believe in and that we are all meant to be here at this moment in our life.”

The issues that the Haven addresses are truly pressing issues here in our community and in the states of New Hampshire and Vermont. “When I came here,” Weeks said, “seeing how prevalent homelessness was in our small state was really alarming to me, and seeing how many people in our state are living right at the edge of affordability.” The Haven works to de-stigmatize the idea of people reaching out for help when they need it, as there is no telling when or why someone might need help. Weeks remarks on how quickly or easily it is for any of us to become homeless in unexpected and difficult circumstances and encourages people to reach out when they need it. Pickell recalls the words of a shelter guest: “I wish I would’ve asked for help sooner.” 

The Haven is celebrating its 40th Anniversary by sharing 40 stories of people, events, ideas, and services fundamental to its mission that can be found on the website at www.uppervalleyhaven.org. The Haven is open Mon-Thu: 9am-4:30pm and Fri: 9am-3pm. The Haven relies overwhelmingly upon support from the community to carry out its mission. Support comes in myriad ways, including financial donations, volunteer time, and donations of food and clothing. Over 70% of the Haven’s revenues come directly from individuals who make donations by check, credit card, or gifts of stock.

19 Days of the Valley celebrates its 10th anniversary this holiday season! To learn more or get involved, visit uppervalleyhaven.org/events/19days and reach out to the Haven, or email Dan at dan@danandwhits.com.