August 12, 2023, at the Craftsbury Old Home Day celebration. Henry Marckres was born in Craftsbury, and for 33 years worked as Vermont's Maple Specialist, a job which, surprisingly, wasn't without its hazards: tasting tainted syrup samples landed him in the hospital three times. He sat for an interview with Craftsbury Historical President Don Houghton. He also recounted a personal story involving Craftsbury Academy and a Confederate 1000 dollar bill.

Henry Marckres 8:12:23.MP3

(The recording starts slowly for 30 seconds, while whoever is doing the recording gets the settings right.)

In June of 1974, Ethan Hubbard recorded Miss Jean Simpson giving the graduation address at Craftsbury Academy. In her talk she encourages graduates to not neglect the 'time-tested' literature and poetry of the older days, for the wisdom and advice they impart. She also hoped that they might take part in the future dramatic presentations of the East Hill Players, the theater company that she founded in 1923, and continued being involved with for more than five decades. While the address was recorded in 1974, the photograph is from 1977 when she received an award from then-Principal Ted Howard.

Miss Jean Graduation '74.MP3

Marvin Ryan is the eldest of the three Ryan brothers - along with Willy and Paul - who were dairy farmers in Craftsbury throughout their adult lives. Marvin is retired now, and he speaks of his grandfather being a dairy farmer in Mill Village, of his father dying early at age 52, and of Marvin taking over the dairy operation with his two brothers in a number of locations around Craftsbury, before winding up at the intersection of Route 14 and Guy Lot Road. His remembrances here include schooling, and the different aspects of earning a living as a dairy farmer.

Marvin Ryan.MP3

Rudy is a self-described 'Army brat'; born in Germany where his First Sergeant dad was posted, he attended 16 different schools before finally graduating from Craftsbury Academy in 1973. Rudy brings community-minded energy to town affairs, taking advantage of the management skills he developed in his professional life to take an active role on both the Planning Commission and the Broadband Committee. He's also an accomplished amateur musician; his hometown band Meltdown drew enthusiastic crowds at a number of local venues.

Rudy Chase 3 - 22 - 24.MP3

Craftsbury's reputation as a world-class X-country ski destination is due in large part to the efforts of local resident John Brodhead. He and his wife Gina Campoli came to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center at the invitation of then-owner Russel Spring in the '70s; through John's efforts, the COC has become known not only for nordic skiing, but also for sculling, running, and mountain biking, among other sports.
John is retired now, and dealing with oncoming Parkinson's Disease. He talks briefly during the interview about how the disease is affecting his life-long athletic endeavors.
In 2019 John was inducted into the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Here's a link to the video made at that occasion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A51VdHwMy4E

John Brodhead 3 - 30 - 24.MP3

Rich Karat is from Seattle, and he had been in touch with me during the winter about a personal project that required him to cross the country in order to visit sites where the filming of The Trouble With Harry took place seventy years ago, on and around the Common, as well as elsewhere in Craftsbury. He arrived today; we met at the library - only a short distance from where a good number of the principal scenes were filmed -  and we sat down to talk about what drives his interest in this particular Hitchcock film. This is our conversation.

Rich Karat 4 - 7-24.MP3

Lance - a name that he finds these days preferable to his given name Herbert - was born in Dorchester, near Boston, in 1929. He served in the Coast Guard in WWII, worked at a number of different careers over the course of his life, and came to live in an historic, 1850 house in 'downtown' Craftsbury that was originally the carriage house for the Inn next door. He came to Craftsbury with his wife in 2004. He is - deservedly - newly notorious in town, owing to a recent multi-paged spread about him in our local newspaper.

Herb 'Lance' Harris 5 - 2-24.MP3

In this recording, Christine McDonnell is reading a newspaper account of Craftsbury's 1937 Community Fair, the precursor to what we know today as Old Home Day. It's a picture of a community totally involved in celebrating every aspect of its rural way of life: agriculture, home-based skills and products, sports, music...By coincidence, Arthur Rothstein, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) photographer, happened to be in the area, and he took about a dozen photographs of the day's happenings; they, along with the newspaper 's vivid description, combine to give us a full and interesting account of Craftsbury's 1937 celebration on the Common. (Here are Rothstein's photos:https://loc.gov/search/?in=&q=craftsbury&new=true)

Community Fair Sept. 1937.MP3

There have been three garage/service stations in Craftsbury village over the years. The accompanying photo is of the first one that burned in 1933; it was replaced by a second one that burned in 1960.  Joel Hodgdon is the owner of the third, and present, garage; here he reads the account of what happened when the first garage burned.

Joel Hodgdon Garage Fire.MP3

In 1931 there was a major fire in Craftsbury village that destroyed houses and barns located on the corner of Cemetery Road and Main Street, as well as the third floor of the building that we know now as the Craftsbury General Store. The Hardwick Gazette published an account of the event several days after it happened; here is that account, as read by Andy Moffatt.

Henry Marckres 8:12:23.MP3

CHS Craftstories

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