Hello Friends of the Road,
Yesterday is History. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. A friend of mine gave me a coffee mug with that written on it. Good words indeed.
I have lots of info for you today. I will start with the most important, in case you don’t make it to the end of my ramblings. The annual meeting is rapidly approaching us. The CPRA board of directors is still discussing the details of the meeting. Just like Vermont weather, things can change very quickly. Currently, we are a go for the event. If you are going to attend the meeting, it is very important you pay attention to future correspondence from us. Plans and details could change. We will most likely forego the pot luck meal. We will most likely have the meeting and guest speaker presentation upstairs in the church (rather than the basement meeting room). We will likely require reservations for all attendees. We almost definitely will require all people to wear masks. That is what I can tell you now. I can also tell you that our scheduled speaker Bill Powers has done a lot of work preparing for the meeting, and I personally, am eager to hear his presentation. I have attended other presentations of his, and I thoroughly enjoyed them!
Next topic: pictures. One of the attendees of the August outing shared some great photos for everyone. Thank you Stephen! You can view them here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4t21r0oh37u7p5q/AABMqaTEXHDOqbnVr61YCBOLa?dl=0
Recently, I attended an online meeting to discuss the possibility of a “pocket park” being built in Center Rutland. A “pocket park” is another way of describing a small park. The park would be near Mead’s Falls near the intersection of Rt 3 and Business 4. It has been discussed that it may include some historical content, possibly in the form of informational signs. As many of you know, there is a lot of history at that location. The Crown Point Road went through there. The Mt Independence-Hubbardton Military Rd converged with the CPR there. There was a Revolutionary War fort there. There is undoubtedly more as well. One item that is being considered, is to move the historic watering trough to the park. Right now, it is nearly under the railroad overpass, and “invisible” to 99.9 % of people driving by. Historically, it was in the intersection of Rt 4 and East Proctor Rd. So if it gets more visibility, even if it moves further from its original location, is a “win” in my book. You can read more about this historic monument in your CPRA Historic Markers guidebook. We’ll keep an eye on the project and provide updates as we learn more.
There is one more outing this year on the schedule. Today it was around 85 degrees, so having more outdoor adventures seems highly appropriate. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, the originally planned activities may be reduced, but should still be a great one to attend. The part about the visit to the historical museum is not looking likely, but anything is possible. Here is the original write-up: On Saturday the 12th, at 10am, we will offer an outing with exercise for the body and mind. The day will begin with a short hike in the area of Hardigan Hill. The total distance will be about 1 mile. Following that, outing leader Jim Rowe will offer a private tour of the Orwell Historical Society Museum. Meet at the Orwell Village Green. Bring water and a lunch. For more info, call Jim at (802) 434-7415
In closing for this newsletter, I will share a photo I took on the summit of Camel’s Hump. After a few miles of climbing, my friends and I were approaching the top. That is when we met a large contingent of uniformed hikers. They were members of the VT National Guard. It was thrilling and an honor to reach the top with such distinguished members of our society. This is relevant to this historical newsletter because they are the modern representatives of those who fought for the State of Vermont so long ago. My friends and I stood amongst our modern day “Green Mountain Boys”. We will never forget that experience.
Live Long and Prosper,
Dale Christie
CPRA Secretary of Defense