Country stores: A Vermont tradition

ADDISON COUNTY — We, two Middlebury College students, set off on a mission: 16 country stores, 408 miles, one week. Our wild, cross-county expedition was motivated by a slew of questions: Why have multiple Vermont country stores closed across the state in recent years? What is the future of country stores? What makes a store, a country store? We interviewed the owners at each store to uncover their challenges, triumphs and everything in between. These traditional mainstays of Vermont life come in all differ … (read more)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z795IhIbFcU&t=12s Over the last decade, Vermont has lost many of its small country stores. The Addison Independent visited some that remain to find out what makes them special — and how they are evolving. Read more in our a … (read more)

Caroline Kapp and Nora Peachin visited many of Vermont’s country, general and village stores to find out what makes them special — and how they are evolving. Read their companion article here. ADDISON FOUR CORNERS STORE ADDISON — The Addison Four Corners … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — When Natacha Liuzzi was in high school, she got kicked out of Home Ec class for being a bit of a know-it-all. After growing up watching her mother and grandmother cook, Liuzzi was a little too advanced in the kitchen for her high school class … (read more)

HANCOCK — Whoever was going to marry Kate Seeger knew that they weren’t just getting her, they also had to be ready to take on a hundred or so 9-14 year old kids and 300 acres in the Green Mountains every summer. Kate and tiny Hancock’s Camp Killooleet we … (read more)

SHOREHAM — No one is really sure how long the Shoreham Strawberry Festival has been going on. Guesses of half a dozen folks we asked ranged from 15 to 50 years. But one thing is for sure, lots of strawberry-filled smiles greeted my friend Nora and me as w … (read more)