I can still hear my wife's uncle Leo (Unk - died in the house of his birth, RIP) talking about the people from "Ay Way" who were buying up the state. Not a farmer, unless you count hundreds of white pine now 120' tall. They grace the property where we live, which was "camp" to his generation. Unk was a town dweller, known by all. He worked labor.. "Down to the clothespin" and "Up to the plywood" and had a lot of side jobs... Like everybody else. Mass every Sunday, until somebody pissed him off, then only across that threshold once more, in a box. Always had a dog.. I'm from AyWay, but married into this heavenly place 45 yrs ago. I think it's the preboomer generation's humility, and yes, passivity, that made VT vulnerable to the invasion of godless idiots. AyWay people should have stayed AyWay... don'tchaknow?
I agree that it has been the good nature and civility of Vermonters that has been taken advantage of. Thanks for sharing this story. And as I often say, it isn't whether or not people are born here, but whether or not they embrace the Vermont way of life....
Late to the party here but so glad I found your substack through your article in VDC today. I am not a "Vermonter" as I was born in Plattsburgh on the AFB and then grew up in CT and lived twenty years in Colorado. But I feel that since moving here in 2008 and being surprised at how the state had changed since my years of hiking with the AMC and AYH in the 70's, I have adopted a much more highly self-sufficient lifestyle and mindset. I was decidedly apolitical when I moved here and amused at how Obama was revered. That's when I realized I had entered a different world. Funny enough, not being politically oriented in any way, shape or form, I/we chose this place because "organic" and "sustainable" were not dirty words. Didn't realize it also came with some bizarre social justice mindset as well. I didn't become fully conservative or rather, didn't appreciate that at heart I am conservative until 2020 and the pandemic shenanigans (which conflicted greatly with my BSN degree). That's when I began to pay attention and only because to continue to ignore, meant that I gave in to the very thing that has destroyed our nation. Complacency and "tolerance".
I don't wish to ostracize people for thinking differently or behaving differently, to a point. I firmly believe that all people have the God given right to live their lives as they wish within the framework of rules set in place. The insistence of the SJW's that their credo is the only honest one is highly intolerant, despite their credo. That's when I began to push back. I had to retire early from my career as a nurse in part for family obligations that made working outside in any capacity onerous but also because I could not reconcile what my profession was doing to health care and society at large. But I don't call myself a Vermonter... I wasn't born here. I do have some ties here in that my grandmother moved here in the early 20's to work in Manchester and then met and married a man from Bennington and then moved to the Plattsburgh area. In the spring of 2022 we were gifted a very small financial windfall and my husband and I discussed moving to a red state. We chose to remain here, "behind enemy lines". Still, that doesn't make me a "Vermonter".
I have met many, many generational Vermonters as well as many transplants in my career as a home health nurse. My impression is the generational Vermonters were overrun by flatlanders. Back in the 60's and 70's.... who was going to buy these old homes and farmsteads? People with money. Those people were from away. And that's how we ended up here. And we are changing again as illegal immigrants are welcomed into our hamlets and towns despite no place to reside. Out-of-stater's rush here to partake of our overly generous social services. I can vouch for that firsthand having seen countless patients living in hotel rooms.
So, in closing, I am not a "Vermonter" by birth but surely, I am by lifestyle and mindset. I hope other's see it that way.
Great to have you here -- on substack, but in Vermont too. I complain that Vermont's values are being denigrated and destroyed, but many who were born here have joined in the destruction. It isn't about where you were born: welcome! Check out this older piece: https://vtdigger.org/2018/05/08/john-klar-values-not-birthplace-define-a-vermonter/
I have no roots, no feeling of belonging to a history. Won't go into it because it's not about me, but I see both sides of the belonging coin. It is both a source of pride when it is acknowledged and pain when it is denigrated. I will never know what is like to be a Vermonter but I wish you all the best.
I was born and raised in Montpelier, and it was a republican city then. When I return now, I hardly recognize it. The heritage and flavor of the area has been replaced with ideology.
During my school years, many of my classmates and teachers had a Hispanic surname, as I did, or Italian, Irish, or Scottish. My father's parents came from Spain, came with a trade, worked tirelessly, and knew prejudice and intolerance, for their religion as well as their competition for jobs. My mother's family have been Vermont and New England farmers ( and soldiers) and their wives for centuries. It makes for an interesting perspective.
A review of census records from the late 1800's through 1950 shows a melting pot of humanity, most coming to Vermont to work in the granite and marble trades.
Farmers and blacksmiths returning from doing their duty in the Civil War, in battles such as Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, The Wilderness, Weldon Railroad and Cedar Creek found a changed landscape.
I still remember when Phil Hoff was elected Governor. It was the beginning. Funny that, but Bernie Sanders exemplifies the movement of leftists that seem to have come to Vermont because they loved the area, only to decide it was full of nothing but cows and hayseeds that (truly) just wanted to be left alone, and saw their opportunity to infiltrate and negate the heritage and independent spirit of the locals.
Leftists seem to thrive on domination. Coexistence never seems to be enough. Ask the cows....
Thank you for these thoughts. My family moved up to Craftsbury from New Jersey over 70 years ago to a farmhouse that we rented from a neighboring farmer. My mom and dad worked hard and didn't put on airs, as we were poorer than most farmers were! I grew up loving the smell of hay, maple sugaring and cows. I developed a love for gardening and animals and absolutely LOATHE the way my beloved state has become. I vote, call and write to the legislature, yet they don't listen and seem hell-bent on doing what is right in their own eyes. I pray that the new Earth spoken of in the Bible is like the Old Vermont in many ways. Sadly, even the children of that farmer we rented from have grown up to be liberals. I am at a loss as to how we turn this around.
Not a native Vermonter; in fact not even a native-born American., I came as a child from (then) West Germany. I've lived a lot of places, but Vermont felt like coming home, there is a sense of community among the Woodchucks that is missing in so many other places. My husband and I have made great efforts to fit in with the local culture (which ought to be the norm for anyone moving anywhere they're not from) and it is the highest compliment when someone assumes we're natives. It helps that we've always been blue-collar and always lived in rural places, there was a smaller learning curve.
We've got a (very) small farm and apiary and we do our best to avoid the Blue City Elites. The locals make better neighbors anyway.
I can still hear my wife's uncle Leo (Unk - died in the house of his birth, RIP) talking about the people from "Ay Way" who were buying up the state. Not a farmer, unless you count hundreds of white pine now 120' tall. They grace the property where we live, which was "camp" to his generation. Unk was a town dweller, known by all. He worked labor.. "Down to the clothespin" and "Up to the plywood" and had a lot of side jobs... Like everybody else. Mass every Sunday, until somebody pissed him off, then only across that threshold once more, in a box. Always had a dog.. I'm from AyWay, but married into this heavenly place 45 yrs ago. I think it's the preboomer generation's humility, and yes, passivity, that made VT vulnerable to the invasion of godless idiots. AyWay people should have stayed AyWay... don'tchaknow?
I agree that it has been the good nature and civility of Vermonters that has been taken advantage of. Thanks for sharing this story. And as I often say, it isn't whether or not people are born here, but whether or not they embrace the Vermont way of life....
Late to the party here but so glad I found your substack through your article in VDC today. I am not a "Vermonter" as I was born in Plattsburgh on the AFB and then grew up in CT and lived twenty years in Colorado. But I feel that since moving here in 2008 and being surprised at how the state had changed since my years of hiking with the AMC and AYH in the 70's, I have adopted a much more highly self-sufficient lifestyle and mindset. I was decidedly apolitical when I moved here and amused at how Obama was revered. That's when I realized I had entered a different world. Funny enough, not being politically oriented in any way, shape or form, I/we chose this place because "organic" and "sustainable" were not dirty words. Didn't realize it also came with some bizarre social justice mindset as well. I didn't become fully conservative or rather, didn't appreciate that at heart I am conservative until 2020 and the pandemic shenanigans (which conflicted greatly with my BSN degree). That's when I began to pay attention and only because to continue to ignore, meant that I gave in to the very thing that has destroyed our nation. Complacency and "tolerance".
I don't wish to ostracize people for thinking differently or behaving differently, to a point. I firmly believe that all people have the God given right to live their lives as they wish within the framework of rules set in place. The insistence of the SJW's that their credo is the only honest one is highly intolerant, despite their credo. That's when I began to push back. I had to retire early from my career as a nurse in part for family obligations that made working outside in any capacity onerous but also because I could not reconcile what my profession was doing to health care and society at large. But I don't call myself a Vermonter... I wasn't born here. I do have some ties here in that my grandmother moved here in the early 20's to work in Manchester and then met and married a man from Bennington and then moved to the Plattsburgh area. In the spring of 2022 we were gifted a very small financial windfall and my husband and I discussed moving to a red state. We chose to remain here, "behind enemy lines". Still, that doesn't make me a "Vermonter".
I have met many, many generational Vermonters as well as many transplants in my career as a home health nurse. My impression is the generational Vermonters were overrun by flatlanders. Back in the 60's and 70's.... who was going to buy these old homes and farmsteads? People with money. Those people were from away. And that's how we ended up here. And we are changing again as illegal immigrants are welcomed into our hamlets and towns despite no place to reside. Out-of-stater's rush here to partake of our overly generous social services. I can vouch for that firsthand having seen countless patients living in hotel rooms.
So, in closing, I am not a "Vermonter" by birth but surely, I am by lifestyle and mindset. I hope other's see it that way.
Great to have you here -- on substack, but in Vermont too. I complain that Vermont's values are being denigrated and destroyed, but many who were born here have joined in the destruction. It isn't about where you were born: welcome! Check out this older piece: https://vtdigger.org/2018/05/08/john-klar-values-not-birthplace-define-a-vermonter/
Thanks John. Vermont is not racist. It’s so frustrating to keep hearing that.
Frustrating, and deeply insulting to our forebears.
I have no roots, no feeling of belonging to a history. Won't go into it because it's not about me, but I see both sides of the belonging coin. It is both a source of pride when it is acknowledged and pain when it is denigrated. I will never know what is like to be a Vermonter but I wish you all the best.
Was recently investigating New Hampshire but found the real estate out of reach. I like the idea of a freedom movement though.
I was born and raised in Montpelier, and it was a republican city then. When I return now, I hardly recognize it. The heritage and flavor of the area has been replaced with ideology.
During my school years, many of my classmates and teachers had a Hispanic surname, as I did, or Italian, Irish, or Scottish. My father's parents came from Spain, came with a trade, worked tirelessly, and knew prejudice and intolerance, for their religion as well as their competition for jobs. My mother's family have been Vermont and New England farmers ( and soldiers) and their wives for centuries. It makes for an interesting perspective.
A review of census records from the late 1800's through 1950 shows a melting pot of humanity, most coming to Vermont to work in the granite and marble trades.
Farmers and blacksmiths returning from doing their duty in the Civil War, in battles such as Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, The Wilderness, Weldon Railroad and Cedar Creek found a changed landscape.
I still remember when Phil Hoff was elected Governor. It was the beginning. Funny that, but Bernie Sanders exemplifies the movement of leftists that seem to have come to Vermont because they loved the area, only to decide it was full of nothing but cows and hayseeds that (truly) just wanted to be left alone, and saw their opportunity to infiltrate and negate the heritage and independent spirit of the locals.
Leftists seem to thrive on domination. Coexistence never seems to be enough. Ask the cows....
Thank you for these thoughts. My family moved up to Craftsbury from New Jersey over 70 years ago to a farmhouse that we rented from a neighboring farmer. My mom and dad worked hard and didn't put on airs, as we were poorer than most farmers were! I grew up loving the smell of hay, maple sugaring and cows. I developed a love for gardening and animals and absolutely LOATHE the way my beloved state has become. I vote, call and write to the legislature, yet they don't listen and seem hell-bent on doing what is right in their own eyes. I pray that the new Earth spoken of in the Bible is like the Old Vermont in many ways. Sadly, even the children of that farmer we rented from have grown up to be liberals. I am at a loss as to how we turn this around.
Terrific essay John. Thank you!
Lovely essay.
Not a native Vermonter; in fact not even a native-born American., I came as a child from (then) West Germany. I've lived a lot of places, but Vermont felt like coming home, there is a sense of community among the Woodchucks that is missing in so many other places. My husband and I have made great efforts to fit in with the local culture (which ought to be the norm for anyone moving anywhere they're not from) and it is the highest compliment when someone assumes we're natives. It helps that we've always been blue-collar and always lived in rural places, there was a smaller learning curve.
We've got a (very) small farm and apiary and we do our best to avoid the Blue City Elites. The locals make better neighbors anyway.
Thanks for writing. I'm always delighted to hear people praise native Vermonters, toward whom I am admittedly partial. :)
Great article and very articulate, John. I would make one minor change and substitute "hypocrisy" for "incongruity" --
"The incongruity is as stark as the Green Mountain culture war:..."