Chronicled History

compiled by Joseph Gresser

Five years ago

May 7, 2003

Greensboro has got the blues

by Bethany M. Dunbar

GREENSBORO — This town has got the blues.

Ted Donlon and Valdine Hall of Greensboro have organized a monthly blues jam session, and the first one is this Saturday.  They will be the second Saturday of each month at 8 p.m.

Mr. Donlon plays bass and likes to jam with other area musicians whenever he can.  Over the last two summers Ms. Hall has hosted parties that turned into jam sessions.  They were popular enough and large enough that she decided they should move out of her house and into the Grange Hall.  The admission will be $4 and will go toward repairs for the hall, which is one of the oldest buildings in town.

“I had done this jam thing down in South Carolina when I was living down there, and it sounded like it would be a good match,” Mr. Donlon said….

Ten years ago

May 6, 1998

In Barton — Green Up Day:  much done, much to do

More than 80 Barton residents, ranging from preschoolers to seniors were out there with their bright green trash bags on May 1 and 2 combing yards, steets, and roadways for stray paper, bottles, cans, and random trash.  The event was coordinated by Barton Partners in Community Leadership.

Theresa Piette and the third- and fourth-grade classes from the Barton Academy and Graded School made a great start on Friday.  On Saturday, community volunteers were joined by Boy Scout Troop 862 (led by Bill Martin) and Cub Scout Troop 866 (led by Sue Wright).

According to a spokesperson, around 97 bags of trash were collected.  Croteau’s Garage provided a dumpster, and Waste USA accepted the delivery at no cost.  Guided by Jimmy Morin’s excellent route maps, pickup teams (Doug and Patty Elliott, Brian Gifillan, Harvey and Dean Lyon, Bernie and Bill Butler, and Janice Sicard) did the rounds and collected trash bags and an array of surprising objects….

Fifteen years ago

May 5, 1993

In Westfield — The little red schoolhouse waits for new life

by Kelli Daigle

WESTFIELD — The days of horse and buggy, one-room schoolhouses, and milking cows by lantern light hold a place in history that many view as romantic — “the good old days.”

But whether no electricity, hauling water, and cooking everything from scratch made the old days better than today generally depends on whether or not one lived in those times.

One thing is for certain. When a piece of history comes to an end, everyone feels something — loss, thankfulness, or just the need to move on.  Westfield’s residents are no different.  A 135-year tradition came to an end last year when the town graduated its last eighth-grade class — one student — from its grade school and closed the doors for good.

The event was met with mixed emotions by the town’s residents, many of whom went there in the early part of the century, sent their children there, and saw their grandchildren graduate from the little red schoolhouse….

Twenty years ago

May 4, 1988

Law Day brings students to court

by Elizabeth Landolt

NEWPORT — “Joseph Black” of Newport was found guilty Monday by a six-member District Court jury of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DWI) and being in an accident with injuries resulting.

He was sentenced to three years in jail and fined $1,500.

Actually, that was the outcome of a mock trial held at the court Monday for the first annual Orleans County Law Day.  Students from North Country Union High School, Lake Region Union High School, and Sacred Heart High School acted, respectively, as the prosecution, the defense, and the jury.  Sacred Heart also provided “Judge” Michelle Lague.

District Court Judge Shireen Fisher (who really is a judge) came up with the idea of getting students involved in Law Day, and she counseled Ms. Lague and the jury members before the trial began and during the proceedings….

Twenty-five years ago

May 4, 1983

One hundred miles per pedal?

by Bethany M. Dunbar

BARTON — “You’ve got to do what’s fitted for yourself,” says Aldeo Jorlin.  That’s what he does — his bicycle takes him just about anywhere he wants to go, summer or winter.  In fact, in the last 11 months since he bought the bike and put on a small gas motor, it’s taken him 3,233 miles, according to the bike’s odometer.

In the winter he takes the motor off, but in the summer it helps him get up the steeper hills without having to get off and walk, he says, “but I don’t rush.”

At 75 years old, going to Stanstead, Quebec, and back in a day by bike may not be rushing, but its certainly an accomplishment.  That means a 52-mile trip.  In a month he goes about 300 miles….

Thirty years ago

May 4, 1978

“Mini” players compete

by Ruth Strong

CRAFTSBURY COMMON — The basketballs were regulation size and the hoops were regulation height, but the players were miniature as the Craftsbury Middle School basketball teams wound up their season with a boys vs. girls game last Friday evening.

To benefit the PTA playground fund, the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders played a fast-paced, two-period exhibition game.

The second event of the evening pitted the boys team’s fathers against the girls team’s mothers in a fun-packed display of ball handling skills remembered from their own basketball days.  Officiating both events were school board chairman Walter Gutzmann and Academy coach Bruce Aschenbach….