[middtube envs0350a-f08 mp3: leastman_jcooper_100708]
Luke Eastman
Interview with Jane Cooper
10-7-2008
1113 Jerusalem Road, Bristol VT 05443
0:00 – 1:25 Introduction; born in Eerie, PA
1:25 – 3:25 How she got to Vermont; liked independent attitude of VT, self-sufficiency
3:30 – 10:35 Describing 10 years in trailer, “it was appalling,” “it was disgusting,” “it was good for my kids, they learned to do with less,” ran out of water, cost-effective measures, described “Norman Rockwell childhood” for her kids, described how distance meant not as much as social interaction,
10:35 – 11:30 Story about power, phones going out, walking with young son in winter
11:30 – 14:20 Living in current house; “you have to really work hard at doing stuff that you don’t have to do elsewhere (talking about VT),” “having right priorities,” “I don’t have to impress anybody up here,” kids picking berries after reading children’s books about it
14:30 – 15:05 Describes neighbors and interactions
15:25 – 19:10 She “ABSOLUTELY” feels a disconnect with the town of Starksboro, kind of feels like an outsider, doesn’t feel much of a strong connection to the Jerusalem schoolhouse, talks about a meet-your-neighbor get-together “thinks it’s very cool that people are making that kind of effort”; “I don’t know everybody, but everybody knows who I am,” never goes to the town center,
19:15 – 21:57 “I’d rather be Jerusalem than South Starksboro”
21:55 – 24:00 Story about someone addressed her house “side of Stark mountain” ‘ another story about a man trying to sell the Burlington Free Press upset about her not having an actual address
24:15 – 26:00 How she feels separate from town, “I REALLY WISH WE WERE OUR OWN SEPARATE TOWN ACTUALLY.”
26:10 – 28:00 Describing trifles with old grumpy German lady, story about dog eating deer
28:15 – 31:50 Describing nice neighbors, “you want a healthy, safe place for your kids” “I don’t know if we even know where our house keys are,” “it’s just a lot of belief in community up here,”
32:00 – 33:50 Bad sides of living here – weather (it’s been 30 below), no cell service, fear of having a health emergency
35:30 – 40:15 Her kids experiences during schools, thought that Robinson had ups and downs, “They probably couldn’t read if I hadn’t done that (read at home with them),” “a real mixed bag,” was a teacher at Mt. Abe, describes kids who couldn’t read three letter words
40:15 – 42:30 Story about kids hanging out with different age groups, sense of community, “very unique growing up in a place like this”
42:28 – 43:45 Story about a girl helping her son with reading some days on the school bus (Very heartwarming),
43:50 – 48:15 Kids futures and Starksboro, she doesn’t want her kids back in Starksboro, but close enough in VT, toughness of job prospects, talking about the “geniusness” of her son,
48:15 – 50:15 Has a feeling that tough environmental laws might be keeping business out, a little upset about petition to shut down Vermont Yankee, thinks it would force IBM out, good story on that,
50:15 – 52:00 “For some of us we get the impression that they’re trying to make Vermont into a place just for affluent people,” “I just worry about the economic conditions”
52:10 – 56:43 Talking about commuters, how a gas tax in VT wouldn’t work, talks about how public transportation is bad, how school activity bus used to not come to South Starksboro, “It’s like for some kids, that are economically deprived up here, they don’t have some opportunities that they should have.” ACTR doesn’t come up there. “I wish town was a little more affordable as far as utilities go.” “It’s really a good place to live.”