>> THINGS COME, AND THINGS GO.

SOME THINGS COME AND GO SO QUIETLY YOU NEVER KNEW THEY WERE THERE AT ALL.

OTHERS MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION.

MUCH OF AN IMPRESSION THAT PEOPLE TELL THEIR STORIES LONG AFTER THEY HAVE VANISHED.

GATHER THESE STORIES UP AND YOU GET A VIEW OF THE PAST, A PAST ALIVE WITH THE PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT MADE AN IMPRESSION ON THEIR TIME.

THAT MADE HISTORY.

KNOWING WHAT HAS BEEN LOST IN OUR LOCAL CULTURE, GIVES US A CLEARER SENSE OF WHO WE ARE NOW AND HOW WE GOT HERE.

IT REMINDS US THAT OUR HERITAGE FADES, ECLIPSED BY WHAT IS NEW.

THE STORIES OF TODAY WILL COME STORIES OF OUR PAST.

>> I WORKED IN THREE QUARRIES HERE, AND THE WESTERN QUARRY AT THE OTHER SIDE, THAT MADE FOUR QUARRIES I WORKED IN.

>> YOU WORKED THEM ALL.

>> NOT ALL OF THEM.

BUT FOUR OF THEM.

>> THESE MEN ARE VETERANS OF THE MARBLE QUARRY INDUSTRY.

BETWEEN THEM THEY HAVE OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CUTTING THE STONE AND MANAGING THE WORK FORCE.

TODAY THEY ARE SHARING MEMORIES AT THE OLD VERMONT MARBLE YARD IN WEST RUTLAND.

>> I STARTED LABOR DAY, 1932, LABOR DAY AT THAT TIME WASN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER DAY.

I WAS 18 YEARS OLD.

I WAS FARMING HERE, AND WORKED AT THE QUARRIES AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

>> I STARTED IN 1947.

RIGHT AFTER I GOT OUT OF THE NAVY.

AND I, LIKE HERB, I STARTED OT THE BOTTOM OF THE LADDER, AND WORKED UP THROUGH AS A MACHINE OPERATOR, DRILL OPERATOR, BLASTING.

>> MOST UNDERGROUND MINING PEOPLE, WHETHER QUARRYING OR MINING HARD ROCK, IT IS A TEAM EFFORT.

YOU'RE DOWN THERE.

YOU DEPEND ON EACH OTHER.

YOU HAVE MAYBE -- YOU HAVE A LOT OF SENSE OF A TEAM GROUP THING.

WE GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER REAL WELL.

YOU WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE LOST A LOT OF THESE DAYS.

>> AT THAT TIME, FEEL MORE LIKE A FAMILY.

>> EXACTLY.

>> YEAH.

>> A CABLE, WHETHER YOU KNOW THEM OR NOT, HE COULDN'T HEAR YOU, BUT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SEE HIM GET HURT.

>> AMAZING THING ABOUT MARBLE, YOU CAN GET THESE BLOCKS THAT ARE 18, 20 FEET LONG WITHOUT A FLAW.

TO GET THEM OUT OF THE GROUND, YOU HAVE TO CUT THEM OUT, SPLIT THEM OUT, WHATEVER, MOVE THEM AROUND.

IN THOSE DAYS WE JUST HAD DEREKS, AND ROPES AND SWINGS AND A LOT OF INGENUITY.

THE OTHER THING WITH THE MARBLE OR STONE INDUSTRY, YOU DO IDENTIFY WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

THE FELLOWS, EVEN THE ONES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LADDER, EVERYONE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND MOST OF WHERE THE STONE WAS GOING ON THE BIG PROJECTS.

THE U.N. BUILDING WAS SOMETHING THAT RUTLAND WAS PUT INTO, AND EVERYBODY TOOK PART IN IT.

>> IT WASN'T JUST MASSIVE ARCHITECTURAL PIECES, THEIR SMALLER PIECES BECAME BEAUTIFUL, LASTING MEMORIALS.

>> THE WHOLE STONE INDUSTRY GOES THROUGH CYCLES, AND IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE LATE 1800s THROUGH THE 19 -- UP INTO THE 1930s, ALL OF THE HIGH RISE BUILDINGS, RAIL ROAD STATIONS BEING BUILT AND MOST EVERYTHING HAD STONE CLADDING OR INTERIOR MARBLE VENEER.

AFTER THE WAR WITH THE BUILDING BOOM, THE USE OF STONE WAS A LOT LESS.

STEEL, PLASTICS AND SOME OF THE OTHER MATERIALS, SO THAT THE TOTAL VOLUME OF STONE WENT DOWN, AS WE -- THE AMOUNT OF THE MANPOWER THAT WAS NEEDED BECAME LESS.

>> THE YARD AT VERMONT MARBLE IS QUIET THESE DAYS.

THE ONES BOOMING STONE INDUSTRY HAS FADED UNLIKE THE GOODS IT PRODUCED.

THEY ENDURE.

BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT, FRIENDSHIPS AND MEMORIES MADE IN A TRADE THAT WAS THE LIFE BLOOD FOR THOUSANDS OF STONE WORKERS IN VERMONT.

>> JUST AS STONE CUTTERS AND CAR VERS FROM FOREIGN LANDS CAME TO VERMONT IN SEARCH OF WORK, MEN AND WOMEN FROM OUR OWN COUNTRY CAME IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

ONE SOUTHERNER, THOMAS HENRY CHUBB, A TEXAN FROM GALVESTON A VICTIM OF YELLOW FEVER, HE WAS SEEKING A MORE HEALTHFUL CLIMATE.

>> I DON'T KNOW WHY HE WENT THERE.

HE WENT TO THE EAGLE HOTEL, THE PROPRIETOR REFUSED TO ADMIT HIM.

WHY?

HE HAD A SOUTHERN ACCENT.

THEN A MAN NAME MARSSTON LET HIM IN.

HE HAD A LITTLE MILL.

HIS SON TOLD ME HE HAD SEEN A FISHERMAN, AS A THOUGHT CROSSED HIS MIND THAT RODS COULD BE MADE BY MACHINES, AND NOT BY HAND AS THEY HAD BEEN BEFORE.

>> AND SO THIS CONFEDERATE VETERAN OF A WAR THAT HAD ENDED ONLY TWO YEARS EARLIER BEGAN MANUFACTURING FISHING RODS BY MACHINE AT HIS FACTORY KNOWN AS THE THOMAS H. CHUBB ROD COMPANY LOCATED IN POST MILLS.

>> IT WAS A REMARKABLE BUSINESS BECAUSE THE PRODUCT WAS A LUXURY PRODUCT.

THE ROD, REEL, LURES, WENT ABOUT $200, AND THAT WAS TOTALLY OUT OF POSSIBILITY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED NEARBY.

AND THAT WAS WHY IT HAD TO BE SOLD AT A DISTANCE AND THROUGH CATALOGS AND THROUGH ADVERTISING IN POPULAR MAGAZINES.

THEY MAILED OUT THE CATALOG IN HUGE NUMBERS AND IT WAS A EKS EXTRAORDINARY CATALOG.

IT HAD LITTLE ESSAYS ON HOW TO FISH.

AND COLORED PICTURES OF TROUT FLIES AND SALMON FLIES.

>> CHUBB CONSIDERED THE SPLIT BAMBOO ROD TO BE THEIR BEST.

BETTER BY FAR THAN THE ALL WOOD RODS OF THEIR DAY.

CHUBB, HIMSELF, FAVORED THE LANCE WOOD ROD.

>> I'M NOT A FISHERMAN NOW AT ALL, BUT IN MY EARLY YOUTH, NOTHING SEEMED SO DESIRABLE TO ME AS FISHING, AND MY FATHER WILL SAY, AN ART IN FISHERMAN, BUT PERSONALLY I NEVER OWNED A CHUBB ROD.

THEY HAVE BECOME COLLECTORS ITEMS, AND I HAD ONE GENTLEMAN WHO CAME TO THE MUSEUM WITH ONE OBJECT ONLY, AND THAT WAS TO SEE THE CHUBB RODS.

AFTER HE HAD SEEN THAT, HE WAS SATISFIED AND HE DEPARTED.

>> THE FACTORY HAD TO BE REBUILT THREE TIMES.

TWICE BECAUSE OF FIRE, ONCE BECAUSE OF A FLOOD.

BUT IT WAS IN 1933 THAT THE GREAT DEPRESSION FINALLY PUT CHUBB'S EXPENSIVE TOYS OUT OF THE REACH OF MOST EVERYONE.

AND HIS COMPANY OUT OF BUSINESS.

>>> REED ORGANS WERE ONCE A LUXURY ITEM.

THE ESTEY ORGAN COMPANY OPENED ITS DOOR IS IN 1846 AND MANAGED TO TURN A PROFIT RIGHT THROUGH THE DEPRESSION YEARS AND INTO THE 1950s.

IN THE DAYS BEFORE RECORDED MUSIC, IT WAS A BIG HIT.

>> YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE PARLOR ORGAN.

IT WAS LIKE THE STEREO SET OF TODAY.

NOWADAYS PEOPLE WOULD BUY A CD PLAYER AND A TAPE DECK AND ALL THF KIND OF THING, BUT IN THOSE DAYS, THEY WOULD BUY A PARLOR ORGAN.

>> AND BUY THEY DID.

DOOR TO DOOR SALESMEN, MAGAZINE ADS, PART OF THE REASON FOR THE ORGAN'S POPULARITY, THEY WERE LIGHTER, CHEAPER, AND EASIER TO KEEP IN TUNE THAN A PIANO.

MANY PURCHASED FROM CATALOGS LIKE THIS ONE.

>> WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ADVERTISEMENTS, THEY ALWAYS SHOWED THE FAMILY AROUND THE ORGAN.

IT WAS MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER AS PART OF THE FAMILY LIFE IN THOSE DAYS.

VISITORS WOULD COME, SIT AROUND THE ORGAN, HAD A FAMILY SOLIDARITY, OR JUST PEOPLE SHARING THAT CULTURE, I THINK.

THEY USED TO SAY BACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY THAT THEY DID 10,000 A YEAR OR 20,000 A YEAR.

BY THE TIME THEY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS, THEY HAD DONE HALF A MILLION.

IT STARTED BECAUSE THE MAN WHO STARTED IT WAS AN ENTREPRENEUR, AND HE HAD BEEN IN THE PLUMING BUSINESS, AND HE WAS A LANDLORD, AND ONE OF HIS TENANTS APPARENTLY BROUGHT HIM INTO THE PARLOR ORGAN BUSINESS, AND HE EVENTUALLY TOOK OVER THE COMPANY.

>> ALONG WITH HIS SON AND OTHER DESCENDANTS, JACOB ESTEY GREW THE BUSINESS TO THE POINT IT EMPLOYED 700 WORKERS, EVEN RECRUITING SKILLED WORKERS FROM EUROPE.

EVENTUALLY NEW AND IMPROVED PE PIANOS TOOK OVER THE BUSINESS AND HE WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.

>> REED ORGANS WERE THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU COULD BUY OUT OF A CATALOG AND A PIPE ORGAN WAS USUALLY CUSTOM MADE FOR A SITE LIKE A CHURCH.

THE ORGANS WENT ALL OVER THE WORLD.

I KNOW THEY HAD DEALERS IN EUROPE.

WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT CHURCHES WOULD SEND THEM OUT WITH MISSIONARIES ALL OVER THE WORLD.

WE HEARD THEY WENT ON THE BACKS OF ELEPHANTS THROUGH INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE HALF A MILLION ORGANS, THEY'RE ALL OUT THERE SOMEWHERE BECAUSE THEY DON'T FALL APART REALLY.

THEY DON'T GO OUT OF TUNE.

PEOPLE STILL HAVE THEM.

WHAT WE LIKE IS THAT THEY PUT THE NAME BRATTLEBORO ON ALL OF THE ORGANS.

THAT IS WHY WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE COMING HERE FROM AUSTRALIA, WHO HAD THE NAME BRATTLEBORO IN THEIR HOUSE IN AUSTRALIA ALL THF TIME BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN ON THEIR ORGAN.

>>> TURNING VERMONT LUMBER INTO FISHING RODS AND PARLOR ORGANS WAS VERY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE WHO HARVESTED THE LUMBER.

ONE THING THEY HAD IN COMMON WAS A LONG, HARD, PREDICTABLE DAY.

>> THE BIG CAMPS SERVED THE PURPOSE BEFORE THE SKIDDERS WHEN WE HAD ALL HORSES, MAINLY ALL HORSES, AND IT TOOK A LOT MORE HELP.

THE CAMPS THAT I WORKED IN, ABOUT 75 MEN, ALL CANADIANS, MOSTLY FRENCH.

THE BEST MEN IN THE WORLD, I FOUND OUT.

THEY WERE PERFECTLY HONEST AND GREAT WORKERS.

EVERYBODY CUT -- WELL, IT TOLD WHO THE MEN WERE AND WHO THE BOYS WERE PRETTY QUICK ON THE PAYROLL.

THEY WERE THE BEST OF MEN.

MORALLY AND PHYSICALLY.

>> JOHN IRWIN WORKED IN LOGGING CAMPS IN VERMONT'S NORTHEAST KINGDOM IN THE LATE 1940s AND EARLY 50s, LONG AFTER THE HUGE RIVER DRIVES OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

BACK THEN SOME 600 DRIVERS MIGHT BE HIRED AT THE HEAD WATERS OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER TO DIRECT UP TO 85 MILLION FEET OF LOGS AS THEY BEGAN THEIR LONG RUN DOWN THE RIVER.

BACK IN THE CAMPS, LUMBER JACKS WOULD START IN OCTOBER AND CUT ALL WINTER FOR THE ANNUAL SPRINGTIME DRIVE.

>> IN JOHN'S DAY, YOUNG MEN, USUALLY IN THEIR 20s, STARTED IN THE FALL AND WORKED THEIR WAY RIGHT THROUGH THE WINTER.

THESE WERE HARD, PHYSICAL DAYS, AND THE NEED TO KEEP TROOPS WELL FED WAS A TASK TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CAMPS.

GOOD, HARDY FOOD WAS THE ENGINE THAT DROVE THE AXES AND THE PROFITS.

>> WELL, YOU GOT EARLY, AROUND 5:00, YOU HAD BREAKFAST OF EGGS AND BEANS AND MEAT AND POTATOES AND A LOT OF SWEETS.

THE CANADIANS ARE GREAT FOR SWEETS.

USUALLY HAD THREE OR FOUR DOUGHNUTS, COOKIES AND CAKE.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY CEREAL.

THAT WAS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

THEY HAD THE BEST OF COOKS.

EVERYTHING WAS ASSEMBLED IN THE CAMP FOR FOOD.

BREAD WAS BAKED, EVERYTHING ELSE.

>> THE MEN EARNED ABOUT $100 A WEEK.

THE FASTEST WORKER COULD MAKE $200 A WEEK.

NOT ALL OF THE LUMBERJACKS WERE JACKS.

SOME OF THE LUMBERJACKS WERE JILLS.

>> USUALLY A BIG RUGGED WOMAN THAT WORKED WITH THE HUSBAND.

WE HAD ONE OF THOSE AT MOOSE RIVER.

THOSE TYPE OF MEN HAD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR A WOMAN IF SHE WAS A GOOD WOMAN.

DON'T BRING IN ONE THAT IS NOT TOO DESIRABLE.

NO, THEY SHOWED RESPECT FOR A GOOD WOMAN.

>> RESPECT FOR ANYONE OR ANYTHING THAT COULD HELP BRING IN THE LOGS.

NOT LEAST AMONG THEM WERE THE ANIMALS.

>> THE DAY OF THE YULE OKSEN, THEY WERE BETTER IN THE SNOW THAN HORSES.

MOST OF THESE JOBS USE HORSES MAINLY.

THEY WERE THE BEST HORSES.

JUST LIKE GOING TO A FAIR, THEY WERE USED WELL, FED WELL, OF COURSE THEY DID A LOT OF WORK.

BUT IT WAS A TIME WHEN THE SKIDDERS WERE TAKING OVER AND THEY DIDN'T NEED THE BIG CHAMPS.

USUALLY HALF A DOZEN MEN CUT AND HAULED OUT, AND THEY GOT THEIR OWN MEALS.

>> THE LOGGING CAMPS ARE NOW DESERTED, AND THE STRAINS OF THE AROMA ARE HUGE HARDY MEALS READY ATS THE BREAK OF DAY ARE BUT A MEMORY FOR THOSE WHO LABORED WORK TO EVENING AMONG THE TREES OF VERMONT'S FOREST.

>> THE STORY I HEARD FROM A RATHER ELDERLY MAN WAS THAT HE WAS WALKING DOWN MAIN STREET ONE DAY IN FRONT OF THE ST. JOHNSBURY HOUSE, AND ONE OF THE MEN, THERE WERE FOUR MEN SITTING UP ON THE PORCH IN CHAIRS, AND ONE OF THE MEN SAID HEY, KID, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIME?

AND, YES, I MEAN, THIS IS BACK IN THE LATE 1800s, A DIME IS GREAT MONEY.

THE FELLOW SAID, I WANT YOU TO RUN DOWN THE STREET TO THE CROSS FACTORY DOWN THERE AND FIND OUT IF THEY HAVE MY ORDER OF CRACKERS READY YET.

SO, HE RAN DOWN THE STREET, ABOUT TWO BLOCKS, DOWN THE STREET TO WHAT WAS THEN THE ST. JOHNSBURY CRACKER FACTORY AND DISCOVERED THAT YES, THE ORDER WAS READY.

HE RAN BACK AND TOLD THE FELLOW, YES, YOUR ORDER IS READY.

MR. FORD, THE FELLOW WAS HENRY FORD, JOHN BURROWS, THE FOURTH FELLOW WAS ANOTHER GUY BY THE NAME OF THOMAS EDISON, THESE FOR WOULD STOP EVERY SUMMER AT THE ST. JOHNSBURY HOUSE OVERNIGHT WHILE THEY HAD THEIR ORDER OF ST. JOHNSBURY CRACKERS MADE UP, SO THEY COULD TAKE THEM AND THEY WOULD CAMP OUT.

HE WAS A LITTLE BIT PLEASED THAT HE GOT A DIME FROM HENRY FORD, AND A LITTLE BIT THINKING THAT WELL, MAYBE FORD COULD HAVE AFFORDED A QUARTER.

>> THE CROSS COMPANY IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS.

BUT THE MACHINE THEY USED TO MAKE CRACKERS FOR WEALTHY IN INDUST -- INDUSTRIALISTS.

>> THE VERMONT COUNTRY STORE -- THIS COUNTRY KITCHEN STAPLE IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR USE IN EVERYTHING FROM SOUP TO STUFFING, FISH FRYING, AND APPLE CRISP.

THE CRACKERS ARE NOW SOLD AS VERMONT COMMON CRACKERS.

>> AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, GUN OWNERS NO LONGER HAD TO PUT UP WITH SMOKY BLACK POWDER.

SMOKELESS EXPLOSIVES WERE FINALLY AVAILABLE, AND THE INTERNATIONAL EXPLOSIVES COMPANY IN SWANTON WAS IN ON THE NEW TECHNOLOGY.

>> IN THE TOWN AND VILLAGE OF SWANTON DURING THE YEARS 1898 TO 1919, THE AMMUNITION INDUSTRY BOOMED, SO TO SPEAK, TO THE EXTENT THE INDUSTRY STARTED OUT MANUFACTURING JUST THE GUN POWDER, PROGRESSED TO THE POINT WHERE IT MANUFACTURED LOADED SHOTGUN SHELLS, AND THEN IT OBTAINED NUMEROUS CONTRACTS WITH THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TO MANUFACTURE AMMUNITION FOR THE LABELLE RIFLE IN FRANCE DURING THE WAR.

IT GREW FROM AN INDUSTRY OF JUST LESS THAN A HUNDRED PEOPLE TO ONE OF BETWEEN 900 AND A THOUSAND PEOPLE IN BUILDINGS THAT OPERATED TWO SHIFTS, 24 HOURS AROUND THE CLOCK.

THERE WERE MANY, MANY EXPLOSIONS, BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY HAZARDOUS INDUSTRY.

ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY HAD MAINTAINED A SURPRISINGLY GOOD SAFETY RECORD, TOWNSPEOPLE ALWAYS KNEW THE SOURCE WHEN A LOUD KABOOM WAS HEARD.

UNFORTUNATELY THE ODDS EVENTUALLY DID CATCH UP WITH THEM AND THE FIRST AMERICAN CASUALTY OF WORLD WAR I WAS SAID TO BE A FACTORY WORKER.

>> IN 1917 THE MANAGER OF THE PLANT DIED IN AN EXPLOSION.

IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, IN 1918, THE BUILDING WAS VIRTUALLY DESTROYED, THREE PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES, TWO OF THEM WERE YOUNG WOMEN, ONE AGE 19 AND THE OTHER AGE 20, DORA SAVAGE AND ELIE HEMINGWAY, AND OF THE THINGS ABOUT THAT INDUSTRY IT DID EMPLOY A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND FEMALES OPERATING VERY DANGEROUS EQUIPMENT.

THESE TWO INDIVIDUALS LOST THEIR LIVES, AND IT WAS A TRAGIC ENDING ♪♪ >> THE TIME WAS, OF COURSE, THE 1960s, WHEN AN ENTIRE GENERATION WAS SETTING ITSELF APART IN THE WAY IT DRESSED, TALKED, SANG AND RELATED.

FOR SOME IT MEANT FINDING A NEW WAY OF LIFE AND A NEW WAY OF LIVING.

>> WE THOUGHT OF OURSELVES AS THE POLITICAL COMMUNISTS, BECAUSE WE WERE ORGANIZING.

>> ROZ PAYNE AND JOHN DOUGLAS BELONGED TO A NEW YORK FILM MAKING GROUP WHICH DOCUMENTED THE CIVIL RIGHTS IN VIETNAM.

HE BOUGHT A FARM AND WITH ABOUT 20 FRIENDS MOVED TO AS THE EXPRESSION WENT, BACK TO THE LAND.

>> ORGANIZING DIFFERENT COMMUNES OUT INTO THE AREA IS, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE CALLED FREE VERMONT.

>> DURING JOHN'S TRAVEL, SPREADING THE IDEA FREE VERMONT, HE LEARNED THE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNES THERE WERE.

>> THERE WAS ONE RUN BY A GUY AND HIS WIFE THAT BROUGHT PEOPLE UP FROM NEW YORK WITH ADVERTISEMENTS, THEY WERE THE SLAVES OF THIS WORKING FARM.

THERE WERE SEX COMMUNES, YOU KNOW -- >> RELIGIOUS COMMUNES.

>> RELIGIOUS COMMUNES.

>> AND LOTS OF BACK TO THE LAND COMMUNES FOR PEOPLE WHO HAD GONE TO COLLEGE AND WORKED SOMEERE IN THE CITY AND DECIDED -- IT WAS THE MIDST OF THE BACK TO THE LAND MOVEMENT.

>> WE DID COFFEE SHOPS.

FREE GARAGE.

NEWSPAPERS.

>> KIDS SCHOOL CALLED RED PAINT, A PEOPLE'S BANK SO THAT RICHER COMMUNES COULD PUT MONEY INTO THE BANK.

EYEGLASSES, THAT THE POORER PEOPLE IN OTHER COMMUNES COULD TAKE THAT MONEY.

MOST OF THE COMMUNAL WAY OF ECONOMICS WAS THAT THOSE WHO HAD OR WHO HAD CERTAIN MATERIAL GOODS OR SKILLS WOULD BRING IN WHATEVER IT WAS.

>> AND A FREE FARM.

IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING, BECAUSE WE PLANTED HUGE GARDEN, BUT THE KIND OF PARTICIPATION YOU HAD THAT GREW FROM ALL OF THE LOCAL FOLKS, I MEAN, FROM MOTORCYCLE GANGS TO GRADE SCHOOL KIDS AS GROUPS ACTUALLY CAME ON SUNDAYS, AND PLANTED AND HARVESTED AND PLAYED MUSIC AND SO FORT >> IT WAS GREAT.

IT WAS THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE.

>> THERE ARE THOSE THAT WOULD SAY THAT IT WAS THE WORST TIME OF YOUR LIFE, TOO.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>>> IN LATE 18TH CENTURY VERMONT, THERE WAS LITTLE CHOICE BUT TO BE LIVING OFF THE LAND.

SETTLERS IN THE BENNINGTON AREA HAD THE USE OF POTTERY AS THEY FASHIONED THEIR HOMES AND VILLAGES INTO PROPER STYLE.

>> IT RECALLS TO MIND, IF YOU LOOK AT THE RIVER AND THE WAY IT LOOKS, THAT THERE ONCE WAS A POTTERY HERE AND IT DID PRODUCE MANY WARES AND DID SUSTAIN THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA FOR A LONG TIME.

IT MADE EVERYTHING THAT WAS NECESSARY TO LIVE IN A PIONEER STATE.

>> THE BENNINGTON MUSEUM HOUSES A LARGE COLLECTION THF POTTERY.

THEIR MAKER HAD NAMES LIKE NORTON, NORTON POTTERS, BUT BECAME BEST KNOWN AS THE BENNINGTON POTTERS.

>> IT REALLY IS THE EVERY DAY STUFF.

AT THE ROCKINGHAM, FOOT WARMERS, PUT YOUR FEET UP AGAINST THAT, IT KEPT YOU WARM.

FOOT WARMERS, BEDPANS, FOOT BATHS.

YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T BATHE VERY MUCH BACK IN THE 1700s AND 1800s, BUT THEY HAD TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR FEET, BECAUSE IF YOUR FEET GO, YOU CAN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING.

THERE WERE A LOT OF FOOT BATHS, AND BUTTER DISHES, PITCHERS OF ALL KINDS.

SOAP DISHES.

TOBACCO JARS WHERE THEY KEPT THEIR TOBACCO, JUST ANYTHING.

BUT THEY WERE WONDERFULLY IN VEN INVENTIVE, AND THEY HAD THE NAME OF THE BUILDING AND THE NAME OF THE FIRM.

THIS WAS WONDERFUL, A WATER COOLER THAT WAS USED IN THE PUTNAM HOTEL IN THE CENTER OF TOWN.

A FLOURISHING HOTEL AT THE TIME.

THE WATER COOLER AND STONE WEAR, IT IS A SPECTACULAR PIECE.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH POTTERY MUST HAVE BEEN MADE TO HAVE AS MUCH POTTERY SURVIVE AS HAS SURVIVED.

THEY MUST HAVE MADE TRILLIONS OF PIECES OF POTTERY.

>> EVENTUALLY THE POTTERY ADDED A FANCY LINE OF PORCELAIN CALLED PARION WARE AND SOLD IT ALONGSIDE THE OTHER PRACTICAL PIECES.

>> MADE NOT UTILITARIAN, BUT ARTISTIC THINGS FOR THE HOME THAT WERE AFFORDABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T BUY HUGE GREEK STATUES OTHER FANCY OTHER KINDS OF WARE.

THEY MADE A LOT OF THIS.

TO DECORATE, BE ARTISTIC, BUT DIDN'T HAVE THE MEANS TO GO OVER TO EUROPE AND BUY WHATEVER IT IS THEY WANTED TO BUY.

>> THE OLD POTTERY IS GONE.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS ONE PARTICULARLY, BUT IT DID START IN THE 1950s, AND IT IS VERY SUCCESSFUL.

IT IS RUN IN AN OLD MILL, AND ITS WARES ARE KNOWN ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

>> THE BENNINGTON POTTERY CLOSED IN 1913 FOR GOOD, BUT ITS STURDY LEGACY LIVES O.

>>> THE FLOOD OF 1927 CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF VERMONT IN A HISTORICAL BLINK OF THE EYE.

ALMOST OVERNIGHT, IT CHANGED THE LIFE OF COUNTLESS VERMONTERS IN BOTH URBAN AND RURAL AREAS.

BERTINA WILEY WAS JUST A GIRL WHEN SHE SPENT SUMMERS ALONG THE RIVER NORTH OF WATERBURY.

AFTER OF THE FLOOD, ALL OF THAT CHANGED.

>> BEHIND ME, THERE WAS A BARNYARD, AND MY GRANDFATHER HAD DAIRY COWS.

>> BERTINA'S GRANDPARENTS FARM IS NO MORE.

AFTER THE FLOOD CAME THROUGH THE LITTLE RIVER BASIN, THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAME IN AND FORCED ALL RESIDENTS WHOSE HOMES WERE BELOW A CERTAIN ELEVATION TO MOVE OUT.

THIS PRECAUTION WAS ON RESIDENTS WHOSE HOME DID NOT SEE ONE DROP OF FLOOD WATER.

AND IT INCLUDED JUST ABOUT EVERYONE.

>> I WAS HERE TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE FLOOD.

I WAS REALLY QUITE UPSET ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.

>> WHEN HER GRANDPARENTS PASSED AWAY, HER AUNT AND UNCLE LIVED ON THE FARM AT THE TIME.

SOME OF THE VERY LAST TO LEAVE, THEY WERE EVER THE STOIC YANKEES, NEVER LETTING THEIR WORDS PORTRAY THEIR FEELINGS.

>> THEY NEVER SPOKE ABOUT IT.

IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT THEY HAD TO DO WAS TO FIND ANOTHER PLACE.

I MEAN, THEY NEVER DISCUSSED IT.

VERY STOICAL PEOPLE.

MY FATHER USED TO SAY, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SYMPATHY, YOU CAN FIND IT IN THE DICTIONARY.

>> NEARLY 70 YEARS LATER, PATRICK YAEGER BECAME FASCINATED WITH THE STORY.

SO INTRIGUED, HE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT IT.

>> AS YOU SEE THE RESERVOIR GOING UP THAT WAY, THAT'S WHERE THE ROAD WENT.

IT RAN ALONG THE RIVER.

SOME OF THE NICEST FARMS IN THE WHOLE REGION WERE ALONG THE RIVER BECAUSE THEY HAD RIVER BOTTOM LAND, THEY PRODUCED WELL.

THOSE WERE ALL FLOODED, THE SCHOOL, THE LITTLE RIVER SCHOOL, THE BAPTIST CHURCH, AND THE COVERED BRIDGE.

THE SCHOOL WAS MOVED AWAY, THE CHURCH WAS MOVED AWAY.

SOME BUILDINGS WERE DISMANTLED, SOME WERE BURNED, EVERYTHING ELSE WAS ABOVE WATER AND WAS NOT TOUCHED BY THE WATER BUT STILL PEOPLE HAD TO LEAVE.

SO, EVERYBODY WAS KICKED OUT.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE SAW MILL WAS.

THEY HADN'T TORN IT APART YET.

YOU CAN SEE THE OLD FALLS THERE, TOO.

THIS DAM, IT WAS BUILT RIGHT OVER THE SAW MILLS AND THE BEAUTIFUL FALLS.

>> THE FLOOD CONTROL DAM THAT NOW CONTROLS THE LITTLE RIVER WAS DESIGNED BY THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.

COMPLETED IN 1938, IT CONTAINS FILL, 178 FEET HIGH AND NEARLY HALF A MILE LONG.

THE DAM PROVIDES SOME CONTROL OVER THE DANGERS OF A RIVER RUNNING WILD.

IT ALSO SEALS THE GROUND OF A PLACE ONCE CALLED HOME.

>> WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT SAPLINGS, I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW THEY HAVE GROWN.

>> CHANGES TO BURLINGTON'S VERY PUBLIC WATERFRONT, HOWEVER, HAVE RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION THROUGHOUT ITS LONG HISTORY.

>> THIS IS NEW ENGLAND'S FORGOTTEN COAST, ITS WEST COAST, AND BELOW ME IS BURLINGTON'S HARBOR WHICH HAS BEEN BUSTLING WITH ACTIVITY FOR THE PAST SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS.

NOW IT IS THE SITE OF A PARK, NEW BUILDINGS NEW PEOPLE ARE LIVING DOWN THERE.

YOU CAN RIDE YOUR BICYCLE DOWN THERE.

>> IT IS KIND OF FUNNY BECAUSE IN THE 19TH CENTURY, MANY PLACES LIKE THIS WEREN'T VALUED FOR THEIR SCENIC BEAUTY.

THEY WERE VALUED FOR THE FACT THAT THEY WERE ON A LEVEL, THEY WERE BY A PORT THAT YOU COULD RUN RAIL ROADS EASILY TO THEM AND SO THEY WERE INDUSTRIAL AREAS.

PEOPLE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE WATERFRONT.

THEY WERE WORKING PLACES.

>> IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THIS WAS FULL OF RAILROAD YARDS.

RAILROAD TRACKS, WHERE GREEN PARK LAND IS NOW.

WHERE PEOPLE CAN LOUNGE IN THE SUN.

CARS SHUTTLING BACK AND FORTH CONSTANTLY.

RAW LUMBER BROUGHT DOWN FROM CANADA AND MILLED IN MANY OF THE FACTORIES DOWN BELOW US.

>> THE TALL GRAIN ELEVATOR OVER THERE IS A REAL SORT OF TOUCHSTONE TO THE INDUSTRIAL PAST TO THE AREA.

THAT WAS THE OLD PEASE GRAIN COMPANY.

PROVIDED GRAIN OFF THE TRAINS FOR THE SURROUNDING FARMS.

THE BUILDING SAT FOR A WHILE AND BURNED TO THE GROUND AND ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF IT WAS THAT TOWER.

THERE IS QUITE A DEBATE ABOUT THAT TOWER.

A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A MEMORY TO THIS PLACE, KEEP THE TOWER TO GIVE SOME MEMORY OF ITS INDUSTRIAL PAST.

>> THIS WATER WAY WAS ONCE CRAMMED WITH BOATS SQUEEZING THROUGH THE NARROW INLET INTO A MANMADE HARBOR THAT WAS SPECIALLY BUILT SO BOATS COMING UP THROUGH THE CANALS INTO THE LAKE COULDFFLOAD LUMBER AND OTHER PRODUCE FOR THE NEW MILLS THAT WERE ALL BUILT ALONG THE BURLINGTON WATERFRONT.

IT IS NOT IN USE ANYMORE, BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE WHERE THE BOATS ONCE WENT IN AND NOW YOU CAN ALSO GO OVER IT ON THE NEW BRIDGE ALONG THE BIKE PATH OR BY TRAIN.

>> ARTISTS HAVE SINCE TRANSFORMED BITS OF THE WATERFRONT INDUSTRIAL PAST INTO ART.

RAIL CARS USED TO DROP PIECES OF JUNK MARBLE ALONG THE EMBANKMENT BETWEEN THE BANKS AND THE LAKE.

SOME OF THOSE CASTOFFS HAVE BECOME PIECES OF ART.

>> WAY OUT THERE WHERE ALL OF THE SAIL BOATS ARE, THE RED ROOF BUILDING, BURLINGTON BOAT HOUSE, BUT THAT WAS ONCE THE BURLINGTON YACHT CLUB MANY YEARS AGO.

NOW, THE SAME PLACE HAS A COMMUNITY BOAT HOUSE.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS SITE, BUT IT SITS RIGHT WHERE THE TWO GREAT RAILROADS OF VERMONT, THE RUTLAND RAILROAD AND THE CENTRAL VERMONT RAILROAD THAT GOES THROUGH THE CENTER NET RIGHT HERE, AND THIS WAS A SIGNAL, AND IT HAD AN ARM ON IT THAT DIRECTED THE TRAFFIC UP AND DOWN AND REALLY CONTROLLED THE RAILS.

IF IT WAS IN ONE DIRECTION, IT COULD CLEAR THE TRAINS TO GO UP TO MONTREAL THIS WAY, AND ANOTHER WAY IT WOULD ALLOW THE TRAINS TO GO TO ESSEX JUNCTION.

IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT SWITCHING DEVICE OR SIGNAL ON THIS WATERFRONT, AND SOMEHOW IT STILL SURVIVES.

>> SO, IT IS REALLY A STORY FROM STARTING AS A PRISTINE NATURAL LAKE TO BECOMING SOMETHING QUITE NATURAL AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN, STILL WITH ITS INDUSTRIAL PAST SHOWING.

>>> THIS LITTLE RIVER FORMED THE EAST SIDE OF AN ISLAND IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER NEAR BRATTLEBORO.

IN 1911, IT BECAME THE SITE OF SITE OF AN AMUSEMENT AREA.

IT DIDN'T TAKE THE ISLANDERS LONG TO FIGURE OUT THEY COULD CALL UP THE RIVER INTO PLAY.

>> IF IT WENT IN THE RIVER, IT WAS A HOME RUN.

THEY LOADED WITH LEFT-HANDED HITTERS SO THEY COULD HIT IT INTO THE RIVER FOR HOME RUNS.

THAT WAS PART OF THE STRATEGY.

THEY DID QUITE WELL.

>> SOMETIMES YOU GO TO THE CARNIVAL AND SOMEBODY WOULD COME OVER THAT RUNS THE THING, THEY WOULD GIVE THE KID SOME MONEY TO SPEND JUST TO DRAW THE CROWDS, YOU KNOW.

PEOPLE USED TO COME DOWN AT 4:00 IN THE MORNING AND WATCH THEM UNLOAD, THE ELEPHANTS, THEY WOULD BATHE THEM IN THE RIVER AND SO FORTH AND WASH THEM OFF.

IT WAS INTERESTING.

>> HAVING PERFORMERS RIGHT IN YOUR OWN TOWN COULD PROVIDE SOME ENTERTAINMENT AROUND TOWN.

>> HE WAS RATED THIRD WORLDWIDE, SO HE WAS A GOOD WRESTLER ACTUALLY.

I REMEMBER ONE TIME, PARK ON MAIN STREET, LOTSF TIME YOU WOULD GET CAUGHT AND COULDN'T BACK OUT.

HE GOT CAUGHT THAT WAY, SO HE PICKED THE BACK END OF THE CAR UP AND MOVED IT OVER-AND-BACKED OUT.

I SAW THAT.

>> THEN ONE AUTUMN DAY IN 1927, THE WATER BEGAN TO RISE.

AND THE FATE OF THIS LITTLE RIVER AND WATERBURY'S LITTLE RIVER WOULD BE DETERMINED BY THE SAME HURRICANE THAT DESTROYED SO MUCH OF VERMONT.

>> IT WAS DISAPPOINTMENT, OF COURSE.

I SAW WHEN THE BRIDGE WENT OUT, IT WENT OUT WITH A MAN ON IT, YOU KNOW.

>> ISLAND PARK NEVER WAS REBUILT.

EVEN IF IT HAD BEEN, A FLOOD IN 1932 OBLITERATED MOST OF THE ISLAND ITSELF.

BUT BY THEN WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE AUTOMOBILE, VERMONTERS WERE SEEKING FUN AND ADVENTURE OUT OF TOWN, EVEN QUITE FAR AWAY FROM HOME.

BUT WHERE TO STAY ALONG THE ROAD.

WHY, IN ONE OF THE VERMONT'S SWANKY NEW HOTELS.

>> HOTELS STARTED TO SPRING UP IN VERMONT IN THE LATE 1700'S, AS WELCOME HARBORS OF REST.

THE SPA HOTEL TRADE BEGAN IN VERMONT AS EARLY AS 1820.

MANY MADE CLAIMS OF CURES THEY COULD NOT BACK UP, BUT PROSPERED ANYWAY BECAUSE THEY MADE NO GUARANTEE TO A GUEST WHO LEFT AFTER ONLY THREE WEEKS.

BY THE 1870s, THE BUSINESS OF INN KEEPING HAD SPREAD TO MOST EVERY TOWN IN VERMONT.

ALL WERE WORKING TO ATTRACT BOTH VACATIONERS AND BUSINESS TRAVELERS.

BY 1890, VERMONT WAS HOME TO 344 HOTELS, LARGE AND SMALL, PLANE AND FANCY.

AT THAT TIME, OUT OF TOWNERS COULD STAY FOR $20 A WEEK IN BURLINGTON, OR FOR $8 A WEEK IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM.

HOTELS WERE ALSO IMPORTANT TO THEIR HOST COMMUNITIES.

MOST OFTEN THEY WOULD BE THE FIRST TO HAVE TELEGRAPH OR TELEPHONE SERVICE.

THAT MADE THEM THE NATURAL PLACE FOR COUNTLESS MEETINGS, BOTH COMMERCIAL AND SOCIAL.

CERTAINLY VERMONT STILL HAS BEAUTIFUL HOTELS, BUT THEY NO LONGER STAND OUT QUITE THE WAY THEY ONCE DID, AS THE ELEGANT EXCEPTION TO THE HARD WORKING BUILDINGS AND LANDSCAPE OF VERMONT.

>> THIS TAVERN WAS BUILT AROUND 1767.

STEPHEN SAY WAS THE PROPRIETOR AND HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST SETTLERS IN THE TOWN.

THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TAVERN WAS PEOPLE LIKE ETHAN ALLEN STAYED THERE.

THIS AREA WAS KNOWN AS THE HAMSHIRE GRANT, AND IT WAS IN THIS DEAL WITH NEW YORK, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND WHAT LATER BECAME THE STATE OF VERMONT.

THE PEOPLE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WERE FIGHTING WITH THE NEW YORKERS OVER WHO OWNED THE LAND.

SO IN DEFIANCE OF THE NEW YORKERS, THE VERMONTER CATAMOUNT, PUT IT ON A 25 FOOT POLE IN FRONT OF THE TAVERN FACING NEW YORK AS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE.

>> ANOTHER HOTEL THAT WAS KNOWN AS A MECCA FOR POLITICAL WHEELER DEALERS AND PARTIERS ALIKE WAS THE DOWNERS HOTEL PERKINSVILLE.

IT WAS BUILT IN 1831, AT THE CROSS ROADS OF WOOD STOCK, LUDLOW, AND CAVENDISH.

>> IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO MEET.

IT WAS ALSO WELL-KNOWN BECAUSE ON THE PORCH OF THE HOTEL WAS A STUFFED PANTHER, AFTER 1867, BECAUSE A PANTHER WAS HEARD SCREECHING IN JANUARY AND THE MEN OF PERKINS ALL GOT TOGETHER AND SHOT THE PANTHER.

HE WAS ABLE TO HAVE IT PUT ON THE PORCH OF HIS HOTEL.

AND THERE ARE MANY PICTURES OF THE HOTEL WITH THE PANTHER.

>> BUILT OWN SEVEN YEARS LATER IN 1838, THE ISLAND HOUSE GAINED THE REPUTATION AS A COOL SUMMER GET AWAY FOR SOUTHERNERS.

SOME CAME BY CHOICE, OTHERS CAME NOT OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL.

>> IT WAS THE EARLY DAYS, CIVIL WAR, SO HOT IN THE SUMMER THEY WOULD COME UP HERE AND SPEND THE ENTIRE SUMMER WITH THE HOTEL AND THEY BROUGHT ALONG SOME OF THEIR SLAVES TO WAIT ON THEM, SOME OF THE WOMEN, AND TOOK CARE OF THE KIDS AND EVERYTHING, BUTLERS AND SO FORTH, UNTIL AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THEY LOST THAT BUSINESS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH WERE NO LONGER GOING TO GO UP WHERE THE DAMN YANKEES WERE.

>> ONE HOTEL WITH A RATHER NEFARIOUS HISTORY SAT ON THIS SIGHT.

IT WAS THE WATERBURY INN.

>> IT WAS A THRIVING HOTEL UNTIL THE 1950s UNTIL IT WAS STRUCK WITH TRAGEDY.

THE ATTRACTIVE WIFE OF THE OWNER DIED UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.

HER BODY WAS FOUND OUTSIDE THE INN, IN A SNOW BANK, WITH ONLY HER NIGHT CLOTHES ON, AND SHE HAD A SEVERE BLOW TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD, AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED WHETHER SHE ACCIDENTALLY FELL OUTDOORS OR WHETHER SHE WAS MURDERED AND IT REMAINS AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY EVEN TODAY.

>> EXACTLY ONE YEAR TO THE DAY AFTER THAT, MR. MALONEY DIED APPARENTLY OF NATURAL CAUSES.

IN THE MEANTIME, MRS. MALONEY'S BROTHER IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, DIED UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN HE ENDED UP SOMEHOW UNDERNEATH THE WHEELS OF AN ONCOMING LOCOMOTIVE DOWN THERE.

AND THEN THE LAST PERSON THAT SAW MRS. MALONEY ALIVE DIED APPARENTLY OF A HEART ATTACK HERE IN MIDDLESEX.

BY ABOUT THREE YEARS AFTER SHE DIED, ALL OF THE KEY PLAYERS THEMSELVES ARE ALSO DEAD, INCLUDING ANYBODY THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A SUSPECT.

>> THREE YEARS LATER THINGS STARTED TO GET EVEN STRANGER.

THE INN BURNED IN A RATHER SPECTACULAR FIRE ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 4, 1953.

THE MANAGER OF THE INN WAS OUTSIDE THE BUILDING WHEN THE FIRE STARTED AND DESPITE ONE PERSON TRYING TO RESTRAIN HIM, RAN IN IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE THE HANDY MAN AND DISAPPEARED.

THERE ARE RUMORS IN TOWN THAT THE FELLOW DID THIS SO THAT HE COULD ACTUALLY DISAPPEAR, AND THERE ARE WITNESSES WHO CLAIM TO HAVE SEEN HIM COMING OUT THE BACK SIDE OF THE BUILDING ON TO THE RAIL ROAD TRACKS AND RUNNING DOWN THE TRACKS TO GET AWAY FROM THE FIRE.

>> IF HE WASN'T KILLED IN THE FIRE, HE MAY HAVE TRIED TO MAKE IT LOOK THAT WAY BY LEAVING HIS CAR KEYS AND BELT INSIDE THE BURNING BUILDING.

>> AFTER IT BURNED, WE HAD A VACANT LOT SITTING HERE IN DOWNTOWN WATERBURY FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS WITH A CELLAR HOLE AND LOTS OF CHARRED REMAINS IN IT UNTIL IT WAS EVENTUALLY SOLD AND TURNED INTO A SHOPPING CENTER.

>>> VERMONT'S SUMMER CAMPS HAVE COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.

JUST LIKE THE KIDS THAT HAVE FLOCKED TO THEM EVERY SUMMER FOR ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS AND THEY STILL DO.

WHAT IS MOSTLY GONE NOW IS THE STAY ALL SUMMER LONG CAMP.

BE LOVED OR LOATHED, THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY CAMPS OFFERING SHORTER STAYS OR AN EMPHASIS ON A SINGLE SPORT.

>> ONE OF THE FIRST GIRLS SUMMER CAMPS ESTABLISHED IN VERMONT WAS FOUNED IN 1909 BY CHARLES AND CHARLOTTE FARNSWORTH.

CHARLES WAS THE SON OF TURKISH MISSIONARIES, A MUSIC PROFESSOR IN NEW YORK CITY, HE GAVE THEIR CAMP A TURKISH NAME MEANING GRACIOUS LADIES.

THE IDEA OF THE CAMP WAS TO EM PART BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH.

>> THE CAMP WAS UNIQUE IN THAT IT -- THIS SOUNDS CORNY, BUT IT DWELLED ON SPIRIT RATHER THAN TEAMS OR A COMPETITION OF ANY KIND.

NO HONORS, THE COUNSELORS SET AN EXAMPLE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO THINGS WELL FOR THE SAKE OF DOING THEM WELL.

>> DOLLY ADAMS WAS A SCHOOL GIRL FROM BUFFALO NEW YORK WHEN SHE ATTENDED THE CAMP IN THE 1930s.

>> WE WERE NOT A RIDING CAMP, TENNIS CAMP, SO MANY CAMPS NOWADAYS ARE SPECIALTY CAMPS.

WE WERE HERE FOR EIGHT WEEKS, AND THE EIGHT WEEKS REALLY WROUGHT MIRACLES.

>> HE WAS A COUNSELLOR.

>> THESE WERE THE DAYS BEFORE THE PARENTS PUSHED THEIR KIDS TO BECOME AN OLYMPIAN.

>> PLUS THE FACT I THINK THE EIGHT WEEKS GOT UP TO $300 OR SOMETHING, AND NOW YOU COULD BUY A CAR FOR WHAT IT WOULD COST YOU TO SEND YOUR KID TO CAMP FOR EIGHT WEEKS.

>> GOOD CREATIVE FUN WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY.

>> IT HAD A LOT TO DO WITH PHYSICAL WELL BEING.

THERE WAS A BIG EMPHASIS UPON BREATHING AND MOTION AND NATURAL MOTIONS AND ALL OF THAT.

SO, IT WAS NOT HIGH -- IT WAS CONTINUATION FROM ISADOR DUNCAN.

>> IF MY CHILDREN WERE TO SEE THAT, THEY WOULD DIE ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING.

IT WAS MUSIC, GRACEFUL.

AND THEY USED TO DO IT -- >> THIS FIRST DAY, AUGUST 6TH, WHICH WAS CALLED THE BIRTHDAY, AND IT WAS HER VIEW THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE A BIRTHDAY.

OVER HERE IN THE BIRTHDAY GROVE, THERE WAS A PLACE OPEN WITH A CENTRAL FIREPLACE FOR FIRE.

AROUND IT WERE CONSTRUCTED 12 FIRES, 12 GATHERING PLACES, AND THE WHOLE CAMP HAD ITS SUPPER THERE AND YOU WERE WITH YOUR BIRTHDAY MONTH, NO MATTER WHAT AGE YOU WERE OR ANYTHING ELSE.

THERE WERE VARIOUS RITUALS THAT WENT INTO IT.

>> THE FARNSWORTH'S RETIRED IN MID 1947.

IN 1959, IT CHANGED HANDS AGAIN.

THIS TIME AS A GIRL SCOUT CAMP NAMED CAMP FARNSWORTH.

>> ONCE CHILLY AUTUMN WINDS BEGIN TO BLOW, CAMPS ARE TUCKED IN FOR THE WINTER AND CHILDREN ARE SENT BACK HOME FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF HOMEWORK AND TESTS.

AS THE LANDSCAPE LIGHTS UP WITH FALL COLORS, MOST FOLKS RETURN TO BUSINESS AS USUAL.

SIGHTINGS OF WINTER'S FIRST SNOWFLAKES, THE START OF ANOTHER SEASON.

SKATES, SKIS SLEDS IN HAND, LET THE FUN BEGIN.

♪♪ >> 70 YEARS AGO, THE PEOPLE OF NEWPORT AND THEIR NEIGHBORS CELEBRATED ICE AND SLIPPERY SLOPES WITH A WINTER CARNIVAL.

♪♪ >> SKI JUMPING WAS ONCE VERY POPULAR IN VERMONT.

THIS ATTRACTED JUMPERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE.

♪♪ >> JUST AS THE NEWPORT SKI JUMP HAS FADED INTO AN ANONYMOUS HILLSIDE, SO HAVE VERMONT'S DARE DEVILS LOST ANOTHER POPULAR PLAYGROUND.

>> MAN, LOOK AT THIS PLACE.

THIS IS WHERE THE STANDS WERE.

THIS HAS TO BE WHERE THE TOWER PART WAS.

ALL OF THE STANDS HAD TO BE HERE.

>> KIND OF LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE.

>> WELL-KNOWN RACE CAR DRIVERS BOBBY AND BEAVER DRAGON USED TO COMPETE AT THE SPEED WAY IN TE 60s, 70s, AND 80s.

THE SITE IS NOW AN INDUSTRIAL PARK.

>> THIS BRINGS BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES.

I HAVE QUESTIONS EVERY DAY, PEOPLE SAY HOW COME CATAMOUNT SOLD OUT.

I WISH THEY HADN'T.

BUT I GUESS -- >> YEAH, IT REALLY ROBBED THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA OF HAVING A PLACE CLOSE BY TO GO TO.

>> THE FANS REALLY GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THE LOCAL COMPETITION WAS WHAT THE FANS WANTED TO SEE.

AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY BUILT IT UP TO WHERE IT WENT THROUGH THE 70s AND 80s.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> I THINK WHEN CATAMOUNT CAME ALONG, AND THIS TYPE OF RACING HERE, IT GOT SO IT WAS KNOWN AS LIKE ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY.

ALL OF THE RACE CAR DRIVERS, CANNOT BELIEVE HOW THE RACERS CAN GET ALONG, BECAUSE AT OTHER TRACKS THEY DON'T GET ALONG.

THE FANS WOULD GET INTO IT TOO.

THEY WANT TO SEE THE LOCAL GUYS WIN IT THEY COULD.

>> THERE WAS A CANADIAN SECTION, AND SOME OF THE GUYS WE RACED AGAINST FROM CANADA, THE MILTON FANS WOULD DOWN PLAY THEM AND SO ON.

THERE WAS A LOT MORE ACTION IN THE STANDS AT TIMES THAN THERE WERE ON THE TRACK.

I THINK FOR THE MOST PART DRIVERS GOT ALONG PRETTY GOOD.

>> I REMEMBER THE LAST RACE.

I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT ONE.

THAT WAS A GOOD ONE.

>> CRASHES WHY INEVITABLE AT CATAMOUNT, AND BEAVER'S LAST ONE THERE WAS A BIG ONE.

>> I WASN'T HERE FOR THAT ONE, BUT I SEEN REPLAYS OF IT, AND JUST AS WELL I WASN'T HERE TO SEE IT I GUESS.

>> IT WASN'T SCARY IN THE CAR REALLY BECAUSE IT ALL HAPPENED SO QUICK.

>> BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP YOU FROM JUMPING RIGHT IN YOUR BACK UP CAR AND GOING AGAIN.

>> SOMERSAULTING DOWN THE MAIN STRAIGHTAWAY.

>> IT WAS ALL OVER BEFORE YOU KNEW IT.

IT WAS A HARD ONE.

>> IT SURE WAS.

>> IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.

>> A LOT OF FUN.

I WISH THE PLACE WAS STILL HERE AND MAYBE SOME DAY SOMEBODY WILL BUILD ANOTHER ONE SOMEWHERE IN THE AREA WHERE WE CAN HAVE ANOTHER ONE LIKE THIS.

>> IT SURE HAS CHANGED IN THE SHORT TIME.

>> YEAH.

>> IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 10, 12, 15 YEARS.

>> ALL OF US WONDER WHAT WE'RE IN FOR IN THE YEARS TO COME, BUT WE SHOULDN'T BE AFRAID TO LOOK BACK EITHER.

GLIMPSING THE PAST GIVES US A CHANCE TO EAVESDROP ON ANOTHER TIME AND WONDER WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE CHOSEN FOR OURSELES IN THOSE DAYS.

FINALLY, WE LEARN THAT THESE DAYS WHICH SEEM SO FAMILIAR AND OBVIOUS TO US NOW WILL SOON ENOUGH BE THOSE DAYS.

THEY, ALONG WITH OUR STORIES OF THINGS ALREADY PAST, WILL BE VANISHED IMAGES.

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