Hello Friends of the Road,

History is made everyday. What happens may not seem historic, but it doesn’t mean events aren’t impactful. I do believe in the butterfly effect. I’f you don’t know what that is, look it up. On a lighter note, I am drowning in cherry tomatoes! I know zucchini often overruns gardeners and growers are often forced to leave it on unattended doorsteps. Soon my neighbors will stop answering my calls if our plants don’t calm down. I hope all you gardeners out there are reaping your rewards and your stomachs are happier because of it. 

Recently I’ve been revisiting a website full of aerial photo data. It has burned up a lot of my time in the past and will likely do so again. It offers a great glimpse into the past and also offers unique views of current Vermont as well. I recommend you check out this website if you haven’t. It isn’t the most intuitive site, so be patient. I’m most amazed that there is such great quality imagery from 1942 of my area. It is priceless. Here is the link: https://geodata.vermont.gov/pages/imagery

There is a volley of outings coming up. One on the East side of the state and one on the West side. Which will you choose? Or both perhaps? I have a feeling I’ll be putting some miles on my car the next couple weekends. The year’s calendar of events is flying by, so if you are determined to attend your 1st outing, time is running out. The last one was at Historic Deerfield. It was a warm day, but history was alive and well there. Each time I go I see new stuff and learn new things through the people that work or volunteer there. 

First up for my “marketing efforts” will be this coming Saturday’s car tour. Leader Jim Rowe can do this tour in his sleep as he’s done it many times before, so his well polished presentation is a popular one. Here is the full write-up: August 17, At 10am, meet at the Mount Independence museum in Orwell for a segment of the 10th annual driving tour. Historian Tom Hughes will kick off the event by making an introductory speech. Following that, Jim Rowe will lead the tour and the day will end at the Hubbardton Battlefield. There will be several stops along the way for discussion. People should bring snacks/lunch. It will take about 3 hours. Admission will be charged at either historic site if participants want to spend time exploring. For more info, call Jim at (802) 434-7415.

My 2nd round of “marketing efforts” goes to an introductory tour at the opposite side of the state. The leader has been working hard on this all Summer and since he first proposed the idea back during the Winter of 2023, I knew it would be a good one. For those who know Lonnie, he does his work and goes the extra mile. I have a feeling he will give you quite a show. That outing is coming up fast too and will be here the week after this one. Here is the full write-up: August 24th (Saturday), Crown Point Road Association will be hosting a driving tour to view markers 1 – 8, all located in Springfield, VT, with an optional hike to marker 3 at the end.  Meet at the parking lot at Fort # 4 in Charlestown at 10:00 am.  Join CPRA members and local historians to hear about  the beginnings of the 1759 military road. The driving tour will be approximately 2 hours long with optional hike to marker 3 an hour.  Barry Griffith (802-492-3573) and Lonnie Lisai  (lonnielisai@gmail.com) will be hosting this event.

A new biography is coming out real soon and it looks like it could be good. If any of you get it, please let me know how it is. It is about Ira Allen. Here is a link to info about it: https://vermonthistory.org/ira-allen-biograpjy-kevin-graffagnino-vermont-history-book

That is all for now. Thank you all for reading my ramblings.