I’ve let far too many comments go by in this newspaper, but not this one. Let me comment on Joan Jaffe’s Sept. 3 column, “Some of My Best Friends are Republican, to My Surprise.”
It’s this flip mentality and the movement of people that has drastically changed the once great state of Vermont. Now it’s derisively called the People’s Republic of Vermont. The influx of people from down country, and, I am one, has been a double-edged sword. It has brought affluence; many have become very wealthy because of it. Some have not. The downside is found by looking at the political makeup. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy, Rep. Peter Welch and a state Legislature completely dominated by progressives. I’m being kind calling them progressives.
I arrived in ’73 and had the good fortune to meet many good “old Vermonters.” Who can forget Dan Fraser carrying groceries out to the parking lot of Dan and Whit’s for customers on a daily basis? If ever there was a picture of humility, there it was for God and all to see. Dick Howard, recently deceased, from Thetford, was the quintessential Vermonter working his heavy equipment and one of those clever guys who could fix and do most anything. Charles Orr in Vershire had the nicest and best-maintained farm in all of Orange County. We were neighbors once and he was great source of knowledge about farm life. Dick Avery in Chelsea was a farrier; I worked with him one winter as a 20-something trying to learn the trade. I never did make the grade. Dick was a solid block of a man but not terribly tall. When you’re shoeing horses, it really helps to be lower to the ground.
These are the men who I consider “real Vermonters.” These are the men who are not being replaced. You think these men were of a leftist nature? I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Is this “transformation” a good thing? Only time will tell but if nothing else, I have many fond memories.
Greg Bogdanich Lyme
While I perused the booths at the Norwich Farmers’ Market, as I enjoy doing almost every Saturday, I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen in ages — Polly Forcier. She brought me up to date on what I remember was a hobby of hers some years ago. At her suggestion, I took some time from my usual Saturday routine, and I went with her to the Norwich Historical Society to see her work. Everybody should go there to see extraordinary floor cloths, wall hangings, trays, decorative boxes and furniture.
I was particularly thrilled to see that her children are also involved in this special work. I hope my enthusiasm comes through in this letter. But the best way to test my opinion is to visit the gallery at 277 Main St. in Norwich.
For more information, go to norwichhistory.org or email info@norwichhistory.org. Seeing this very special work will make your day!
Joan WeiderHanover
Among the points columnist Jim Kenyon raises in the Sept. 4 Valley News ( “Calming Features”), it’s true that a number of Norwich residents have expressed views on the listserv about our town government’s having responded to complaints about speeding on Hopson Road by proposing and planning to install speed tables on the section between Elm Street and Route 5.
However, Kenyon depicts the situation as, “The latest chapter of ‘Rich People Fight About the Darndest Things,’ ” which seems to me an almost certainly false characterization. And even if it were proven true that those individuals who’ve been posting were in fact rich, what would be the value of featuring that distinction?
That a small-market journalist employs sarcasm (root, Greek, “to tear flesh”) in a seeming effort to discourage public discourse about a local issue, even while resorting to snide comments (other references take aim at “Nervous Nellies” concerned about the safety of “children, walkers, joggers and family pets”) is not in itself a big problem. However as civility and reasoned discourse in the public sphere seem to have become increasingly precious commodities in our culture, how is it a good idea to employ such a lowest-common-denominator approach? Who benefits from nastiness, after all, especially when it’s gratuitous?
The next couple of months in particular are likely to provide more than enough in the way of false characterizations and prejudice in claims about people, groups of people and even issues of public policy. I would hope that in our little corner of the world the bar would be set somewhat higher.
Chris WeinmannNorwich