Way to go, Addison Independent! You may have single-handedly destroyed the tourist season for Addison County with your so-called “tongue-in-cheek” article “Flatlanders’ guide to local history” (July 5).
Paraphrasing; Robert Frost’s cabin stinks and it’s usually raining; Bread Loaf is a great place to get some action but there’s deer flies (Imagine! Insects in the woods in Vermont). Also, Middlebury College is another den of sexual activity (On a college campus? Who knew?). Vergennes is no longer charming because it’s not the smallest city (Where did the charm go?). Lord’s Prayer Rock (OK, I’ll give you that one; it’s a rock). Rokeby — Is the author that ignorant of history to believe the Underground Railroad was only in Vermont? Perhaps he thinks it was a real train, too?
But the statement that makes it obvious the author does not understand history is his slam of the Hubbardton Battlefield and his especially nasty comment about the re-enactors. Of course the battle has been studied over the years. However, if you’ve ever attended one of these re-enactments, you will see the Colonial forces (Green Mountain Boys included) always get beat. That’s the way it was. Re-enactors do what they do because they enjoy and understand history. They hope to get the general historiphobic public to see what it was like to live during this time. You may be right, however, when you say, “They really should know better” since an article such as this one makes them seem ludicrous and silly. Thanks for helping destroy some well-intentioned peoples’ efforts to educate the public.
In general, I was disappointed with the article, but you did miss one historic site in the area you should have included. You didn’t comment on Mt. Independence! You could have told our “flatlander” visitors how there’s nothing there. Perhaps you could have told them it is just a glorified cemetery with some hiking trails; after all, over 2,000 are buried at the Mount. You could have said something like “childish re-enactors pretend to be soldiers on occasion at Mt. Independence.” You could have ridiculed the sacrifice thousands made so you have the freedom to write an article such as the one you did. Almost forgot; there are deer flies at Mt. Independence, too. How could you have missed it?
Paul Andriscin
Rutland