Category Archives: Interviews

Tom Estey Interview

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October 21, 2008

Starksboro Town Garage, Starksboro, Vermont

Interviewed by Chester Harvey

Tom Estey is the Starksboro Road Crew Foreman and the Chief of the town’s volunteer fire department. He has lived in Starksboro all his life, growing up in the village on the farm that is now Lewis Creek Farm. He and his wife Cheryl, who is the Starksboro Town Clerk, continue to live in the village.

Tom was interviewed at the Starksboro Town Garage on Rt. 116. The office’s CB radio is sometimes audible in the background.

0:00 – origins

4:00 – road crew

5:00 – Cheryl, high school

6:00 – history of road crew

9:20 – snowstorms

11:20 – fire department

16:40 – historic Starksboro village

17:00 – Mountain View Creamery, Robinson Creamery

21:00 – views on Starksboro development and planning

27:00 – Starksboro Village infrastructure

28:00 – perspectives on town interior

32:00 – historic Starksboro village (cont.)

36:00 – sledding and playing ball in the middle of Rt. 116, Robinson School

42:00 – hunting, Thibault’s camp

43:00 – Town Garage operations

57:00 – Town History

58:00 – Tom: “It’s a pretty nice place to live.”

Ham Dinner, 10/04/08

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Ham Dinner with Dave Sharp & friend Ted Berry

 

On October 4th Chester Harvey and I went to the Ham Dinner, in Starksboro.  We talked to a bunch of people, including Dennis Casey and Tom the head of the roads crew, but unfortunately we only recorded a short conversation with Dave Sharp, the country representative, and his friend Ted.  They were nice guys, and had some fun stories, but aren’t necessarily part of the town proper.  There was certainly some tension felt in the room towards the fact that the county representative was a ‘liberal.’

            This recording clip is a collection of stories about the school, older schools, and shenanigans with town folks.  I think there are valuable reflections on the school and fitting in.  Otherwise, the three stories are quite nice anecdotes. 

 

0:00-4:20 Dave Sharpe’s story about kids driving their car into his pond

a responsible adult and messy kids

4:22-5:00 Shaker Mountain School, just how the hippies kind of busted into a very different town

5:30 Who used the school? 

6:06 What was wrong with the Public school- patterns of unrest around the school, for various reasons. Always someone who doesn’t quite fit in, though.

7:13 the Starksboro Cooperative preschool—still going today!

8:54 Paying for Preschool- scholarships and parental work.  Selling firewood, too (no longer)

10:17 Great story about Tom’s part’s Ford Escort car (sitting in the yard) being taken by a kid with a tractor- it had no tires, just gouged out the dirt road like nothing else, dragged along by monster tractor!

11:57 a story with a Starksboro resident- drinker who got Tom to tow a truck crashed by a complete stranger in the middle of the night… unhitched before being paid- dude screeched off…

Interview with Alan Roberts

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Interview with Alan Roberts
10-25-08

Alan Roberts, in his 90s, is probably one of the oldest residents living in Starksboro. He told me amazing stories about growing up in the Great Depression, his first memory – the end of World War I, the hardships of aging, being a professor of French Literature, and his political views. Although Alan is not a Starksboro native, he distinctly remembers when his parents decided to move to Vermont and saw the property he now owns. The farmer living them came out and immediately asked “You want to buy it don’t you?” Half-joking, his father asked “How much?” They bought the 300 acres of land with a house and barn for $2800. When I came up and visited Alan on a rainy evening, he joked “The best part isn’t here; the view to Camel’s Hump”. In Starksboro, Alan has his best memories serving on the Solid Waste Committee, reading to young children at the library, feeling the community of his neighbors, and working on his land. In order to conserve the property and prevent it from being split up and developed, Alan Roberts recently decided to donate his land to the Vermont Land Trust.

00:00 The town clerk is skeptical of Alan
01:00 His father was a protestant minister; his parents came to Starksboro and saw the property, fell in love with the view, bought the house for $2800, and stayed there.
03:20 He and his twin brother were born on the kitchen table; doctor predicted that Alan (second-born) wouldn’t live long because he was quiet, but now he’s the only one left.
05:30 On the solid waste committee of Starksboro for 10 years; saw the shift from a conservative Starksboro to a liberal political atmosphere
07:00 Military, in the air force for 4 years and had to teach pilots how to land without seeing the ground; but hates fighting and hunting and wars
10:00 Growing up in the Great Depression; Haverford College
14:20 Teaching at the Union College
17:10 Taught at UVM – after the war they were “screaming for teachers”; was in charge of “just about everything foreign”. Looked for a pay raise, but the dean said they had to “take care of our married men first”.
22:00 Being influenced by his father with religion, his religious views
24:20 Talks about his neighbors, “delightful people… most of them have more than a college education”, house and took care of his sister-in-law when she fell during a visit
26:10 Gave his neighbor the wood to build his house with
27:40 Doesn’t want to live in an elderly homes, trying to get services
28:50 His first memory- armistice day for WWI (actually Nov 11, 1918); he was born 1917
34:00 Political talk, Hillary Clinton
38:00 Plane crash at Camel’s Hump in the 40s; his father forbade them to speak about it because it destroyed the beauty of the place
41:00 Changes in Starksboro over past thirty years- old-fashioned old timers to liberal voters
42:00 Read to young children at Robinson School for 3 years
46:00 Starksboro future- it will change with the environment.
50:00 The hardships of old age- hasn’t been able to walk his property, just got into a car accident, afraid of falling
53:00 “I don’t feel a part of Starksboro… I just feel a part of Vermont”
54:00 His neighbor is selling his property by bits; cutting it up. This is why Alan Roberts decided to give his property to the Vermont Land Trust
57:15 Favorite place is at the top of the loop on his property- up high

Emma Lou Craig interview

Yesterday, after the Hillsboro walk and our wonderful lunch at John’s house (thanks again for having us over), I went up Big Hollow Road to talk with Emma Lou. Her house is all natural hardwood, with herbs and onion sets drying from the handsawn beams. One of her neighbors was over watching football (he doesn’t get television at his house up the road), so Emma Lou took me on a walk up Brown Hill. We walked and talked, but it was windy, so the interview quality is terrible. She showed me two cellars of dry stonework, still intact, on the way up to Clifford Pond. When Emma Lou first moved to Starksboro (in the early 70s), the houses were still standing. I got to hear some of the history of the place on the way up, including a tragic drowning, Stony Mason’s work, old timers carrying hundred pound bags of flour up the mtn, and the damming of the stream.

All of our speculation about how beautiful the place is was justified. It was a perfect day to visit, as well, clear and cool following a big storm. Because we’d had so much rain the night before, all of the streams and springs were full and spilling into the glen. It’s a cleared hollow in the hill, with various waterfalls built up into mossy spillways feeding the pond. Up on a small bluff, the Clifford’s have built a small cabin from wood harvested on the land. The care that went into the construction shows everywhere, and into the decoration, as well. There are two beautifully stripped and laquered burl logs to hold water beneath the eaves, and a sturdy swing overlooking the pond. It is a special spot. Emma Lou and I spent about an hour on the swings, discussing her understanding of the place, and her varied life experiences, from growing up in “rural Stowe” to running the campaign for a New Mexican astronaut-cum-governor and living for a few years in DC. What an interesting woman! After chatting with her, I can fully understand her reluctance to publish information about Clifford Pond, but hope that whoever interviews Art and Suzy get a chance to explore up there! 

The location and wind made it impossible to make a good recording, but following are a few of the themes that came out of the conversation. Emma Lou also invited us back anytime to get more information or opinions.

Emma Lou is the head of the Starksboro Historical Society, and has a great handle on the oral histories and underlying landscapes of the town. I got from her a list of everyone buried in the Hillsboro cemetery, which will be very useful, and her house is filled with records of that sort. If you’re looking for historical information, try talking with either Emma Lou or Gerald Hefernan; those two have Starksboro’s past pretty well licked. Someone asked about the Stony Mason interview; she does have it, though she says that his responses are not extremely verbose.

We talked a bit about the history of her house, and about development along Big Hollow Road. When Emma Lou moved in, there were only two houses between hers and RT 116 – now there are perhaps 20. As we walked up to the pond, she and I talked about the Hillsboro area, and the succession of forest over the old houses. She showed me two old sites along the road, and we discussed the viability of small-plot, subsistence farming up on the hill.

She told me that 95 percent of people who come up to Clifford Pond respect it and take care, while the other 5 percent have had some destructive parties and disrespectful activity up there. Because its only a mile or so from her house, Emma Lou acts like a community caretaker when Art and Suzy aren’t up to check on things.

We also discussed the political/planning process in Starksboro, and she told me about her experience as selectboard member. I’m off to class right now, but if anybody has any questions about what we discussed or needs any information from or about Emma Lou, let me know! See you all tomorrow!

Christian