Clippings: The importance of our local history

History has become a controversial topic, and rightly so. Much of what children and teenagers are given in the United States details history primarily centered around white supremacy and the patriarchy. This is true at national and local levels. Recently, a story was uncovered in Vergennes that exemplified that very fact.  The key to understanding this issue is that it is local as much as it is national — something that I did not fully grasp until now. For the nation to be able to remember the history that … (read more)

The other day my 3-year-old, Frankie, told us a story.  “Once upon a time Daddy was in the middle of the road,” she began. “On the yellow line.” My husband, Daniel, older daughter Joni, and I waited expectantly.  “And then a car came and crashed into Dadd … (read more)

You should know at the outset that I am a perimeter-of-the-grocery-store, CSA-subscribing, grow-your-own, Co-op-shopping, bring-your-own-bag, environmentally conscious kind of person when it comes to food. So when my husband asked me to go to the Middlebu … (read more)

I’ve never felt much like one of those beautiful, glowing pregnant people. I hear they exist, but as far as I’m concerned those folks are unicorns. It’s hard work growing a human, and if some days I’m a little dull — oh well.  At 38 weeks pregnant in the … (read more)

The world has changed so much so fast this year that I haven’t had the chance to feel shocked that my family’s spring break trip to London — which we spent six months planning and saving for and worrying about — has been canceled. We are a family for whom … (read more)

I often tease my husband when he is driving because he touches his face constantly and it drives me crazy. Every 30 seconds the hand leaves the steering wheel and shoots up to his head for some reason or another. We have a running joke (though it’s not re … (read more)

“What do you think about that movie ‘Love, Actually’?” wrote my friend in an email several years ago. We’ll call this friend “the Lorgnette” (as in: opera glasses). “I loved it,” I told her. “What about you?” The Lorgnette didn’t like it. “I often feel up … (read more)

After 35 years in reporting, I thought I’d been through a lot as a journalist. Martial law in the Philippines. A couple natural disasters — the big ice storm and rampant flooding in Addison County — in 1996. A double-murder/suicide. A visit by the Dalai L … (read more)

One of my favorite writers is Ernest Hebert, author of seven novels in his Darby Chronicles series, and a number of other works of fiction. Hebert grew up in working class Keene, N.H., and writes authoritatively about this section of New England. He taugh … (read more)

On his first day on the job at Bard College, my son David met Mackie, the director of admissions. It was love at first sight and it blossomed: after a year, they bought a house near campus and then married last summer. It’s a great house, with a path thro … (read more)

I tire at times of people who rhapsodize about their dogs, posting pictures on social media and making every conversation dog-talk. “They’re dogs,” I grumble. “Animals. Not people. They lick their genitals, in public. They live to eat and poop and hump. T … (read more)

I appreciate journalism as an occupation because it provides an opportunity to dive into perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have a reason to understand. Sources open the door and allow reporters to question personal details about their lives. As farmers ar … (read more)

When I was applying to colleges, I spent a good amount of time poking around on different institutions’ websites. Scrolling through Middlebury College’s newsfeed, I stumbled upon a video about a student-run nonprofit — Middlebury Foods. The video opened w … (read more)