[middtube envs0350a-f08 mp3:ISandersetal_CRuncie093008a]
[middtube envs0350a-f08 mp3:ISandersetal_CRuncie093008b]
Chris Runcie (with Janus)
September 30th, 2008
500 Parsonage Rd. Starksboro, VT
Interviewed by Aylie, Rob, Deb, Ian, John
This was our first ‘official’ interview, and the intended focus was Vermont history. Looking back, I’m not sure how Janus’s choice of Chris reflects this pursuit, but as a first interview she was perfect; interested, nice, and easy going. Having 6 people (then 7, then a dog…) made the interview very conversational and removed some of the intensity of facing off with a stranger one on one. It definitely made directing the interview one way or another difficult, but was also a great informal introduction to the experience. It also was difficult to have a ‘official’ recording starting at the beginning and ending at the end because everyone was chatting from the get-go.
We interviewed Chris around 2:30 on Tuesday at her house in Starksboro, behind the school in the farm valley. We did it outside on her screened in porch, which was a gorgeous spot, but meant that there is a constant background of crickets, which I like for atmosphere, but might make editing tough. Her dog Maggie, is present at the beginning of the interview and the end, and is a source of all sorts of doggy sounds. The interview is split into to tracks for me, because we had an ‘introductory’ talk from Janus, and then got into the interview proper. The time log is separated as such.
I could have been less jumpy and excitable during this interview, but it seemed to go pretty well. It seems always to be good to play the absolute dummy- when people explain things to you in their own words stories seem to come out. Being polite and sitting up straight is much easier with strangers- I am automatically on ‘good behavior’ mode.
Chris Runcie lives with her husband Jim in a beautiful house set in the agricultural valley around Lewis Creek running through Starksboro valley. They have a red-golden named Maggie, a beautiful yard, and fields stretching to surrounding forest- there is a wetlands she’d like us to see back there on Hogsback Mountain. They have a sugaring boiler set up.
The interview ended up mainly revolving around conservation in the valley, a topic we didn’t anticipate but was very profitable nonetheless. Her connection to Middlebury often diverted our conversation from Starksboro, but her connection to the town as a former Midd kid makes me feel we can find a place here as well, and become less the invading students and more the cooperative individual.
Part 1
-with a steady cricket chirp in the back ground. Maggie the dog can’t leave alone, so she whines for a while
0:04—the explanation of up south by Janus…followed for several minutes by geography
1:30—great falls by Lewis Creek- a good place to visit?
2:09-4:05- fluff, not worth listening
4:20- Chris describes her property
5:58—Janus and her student-marked map
-people’s houses and what they do there- playing, etc.
6:47–also, kids drew (on own…?) picture of sidewalk- want to have it developed
-This is a contentious issue for some other folks- Tom the head road crew man doesn’t think he has the time or money to make it happen.
9:25—student’s neighborhood self-drawn map
mostly fluff after
Part 2
0:45–none molested dialogue starts
2:20—how Chris Runcie and her hubbie scored the house
-a story!
-includes the tragic story of the former owner
4:22—the jobs leading up to the life in Starksboro
5:40—the story of the fire that destroyed most of the house
6:34—Chris explains her conservation deal with the land
-the covenant between her and Janus
8:07—why they did a covenant, not conservation
– the times
– the size of the property
9:35—the land is in current use
10:35—why Chris can’t harvest her own firewood- the wetland
-which fields she maintains
11:30—sharing the land with local farmers
12:30—Chris’s apple orchard ‘gone wild’ in the native woods- food for wildlife
13:28—working with neighbor farmers to preserve the farm- voluntarily conserving land to save the farmland by the town
-They see it as central to their town’s identity
– The scary idea of losing the farm to development- you never get it back
15:28—Sharing fields between farms just to help everyone get through- the patchwork sharing of lands
16:25—the conflict of interest over this land—older families (or just families) who want to develop the farmlands to keep development in the town hamlet.
18:45—where Chris Runci comes from, and coming to Midd, coming to Starksboro- falling in love with Vermont
20:00—what happened to Long Island farms (her home), and how she is afraid it could happen to Starksboro
22:00—Vermont Land Trust story
– Reclaiming a farm north on 116
During this story John comes back w/ Maggie, some doggy-noise interruption
23:37—story interrupted to put Maggie away, resumes at 24:08
25:03—John Elder returns, minor interruption in the same story
25:30—story’s conclusion- the town claims the land from the gravel group, provides town with gravel for 25 years and fire department space- making Starksboro self-sufficient by internalizing resources—help from Dan, the UVM professor
28:35—Meeting her husband- her lab instructor! I fun story
29ish—lost the Starksboro focus for a while
30:40 bring it back to the town a little
32:45—Jim (hubby) working in Vergennes- working his way into Vermont
33:45—“he really needed to figure out how to make a living… in Vermont”
34:00—Chris’s job- her teaching institute- through community volunteers- delegating teaching to reach a huge child base
-12,000 students a month
36:10—bringing her work to Starksboro- as an educator in town
-wind noise becomes a factor here
38:10—Chris’s take on our project- some casual advice
40:25—eats made from Chris’s sugaring operation!!!
40:55—Chris’s love story with sugaring
42:50—why sugaring is so attractive
45:00—some great sugaring stories
– Growing up making maple syrup
– Chris’s first maple syrup- a great story
– The progression of the amateur sugarer
– A nice description of a sugaring rig
Winding down the interview involves a lot of scraping chares, banging the recorder, etc…