Amanda Kievet (left) and Peggy Allen In White River Junction, among a bevy of hulking metal machines, Amanda Kievet and Peggy Allen are making yarn. In April, the pair opened Junction Fiber Mill, a boutique mill to process fleece from Vermont s small-scale sheep farmers. The industrial space houses half a dozen large machines, some 80 years old. There s a machine to hoist sopping bags of fleece in and out of steaming hot water, a machine to pick the fleece apart and make it fluffy, machines to comb the fibers to prep the fleece, and a machine to spin it all into skeins of yarn.
This winter, in the tiny town of Tunbridge, librarian
Mariah Lawrence organized a virtual book club with a specific goal: connecting people of different ages through a shared love of stories. The
Tunbridge Public Library provided copies of a book, discussion prompts and art supplies to make a painting inspired by the story; participants were encouraged to find a partner or small group with whom to discuss the book preferably someone from a different generation. We had people from 8 years old to 80 years old in the group, and the perspectives were really beautiful, Lawrence said. The book in question,
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry, follows a lonely wolf traversing the Pacific Northwest. While the story is geared toward children, there is darkness in it, too, and Lawrence thought it would appeal to all ages.
The firepit on Juniper s patio On a 9 degree day in Burlington, Dan Bornstein and his girlfriend took a seat on the patio at Zero Gravity Craft Brewery to drink a couple of beers. The Pine Street brewery has installed electric heaters above the tables in the outdoor space it shares with the Great Northern restaurant. I have no problem with it, Bornstein, 28, said of drinking a beer in single-digit weather. I m a local and a snowboarder. They have heated seating, too. That s pretty awesome. A Burlington resident who works in transportation logistics, Bornstein said he s staying away from indoor dining establishments during the pandemic. But having an outdoor beer on a sunny day is enjoyable even in winter.
Credit Peter Crabtree / For VPR
Gavin Treanor jumps off the diving board at Northwood Pool in Rutland Town as his aunt Sarah McMurdy watches with her son Alex McMurdy in her lap on the evening of June 24.
Credit Aliya Schneider / For VPR
From left, Izzy Wysockey-Johnson, Grace Garavan, Ava Devost, Macy Aikman and Samantha Witham rest between ballet and contemporary classes at the Jericho Community Center, which the Richmond-based Arabesque Etc. Dance studio rented on Monday, June 29.
Credit Elodie Reed / VPR File July
A masked mountain lion greets passers by from the window of Ken s Barber Shop in Randolph on July 1.
When I connected with Secor over the phone a couple weeks later, I held my fanboy impulses in check at least, for a time. Only toward the end of the call did the gushing commence. I didn t quite say, Dude, man, I really
love your music. But it was close. Speaking of unprofessional, a good reporter never accepts anything of value from a source. But, come September, I heard from Charyk again and this time he was offering me a cameo in a film adaptation of the Secor collaboration, called
The Ballad of Ethan Alien. Once again, I said yes.