By accident of birth a person could be born on the east side or the west side of the Connecticut River, and thereby be a citizen of the arch conservative state of New Hampshire, or the funky liberal state of Vermont. The geography is much the same, the drinking water is much the same, but the people turn out quite differently. In these polarized times I’d like to know more about how they get along. There might be some lessons here for the rest of us.
Vermont
Vermont has the distinction of having the smallest capital city in the nation. Montpelier is a tiny town with just 12,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless the state is home to some corporations known for their progressive policies. Ben & Jerry’s is one of these, and its original ice cream factory is close to Stowe (Sorry that we didn’t have time to visit). The Cabot cheese coop produces some fine cheddar, and is unusual in having a Department of Gratitude. This department has a mobile kitchen which gets deployed in locations where volunteers are helping clean up after a natural disaster. Cabot volunteers serve other volunteers.
And then there is Green Mountain Coffee. This gourmet roast has a special relationship with Keurig coffee makers, but it is not what I thought. My assumption had been that Keurig is a German company that partnered with a little American company. Wrong. Keurig was started by a trio of MIT engineers, and the owner of Green Mountain Coffee invested in it and eventually bought it. The company is now known as Keurig Green Mountain. It is a leader in sustainability programs and fair trade for coffee farmers.
New Hampshire
Our first stop in New Hampshire was in the town of Bath, population 1,077 as of 2010. In 1790 this tiny town in New Hampshire had a population of 493, so it hasn’t grown much in 220 years.
The 35 in our group from England appreciated that the town was named for the first Earl of Bath. Most of them, and the two Americans, also appreciated that the town has a great ice cream shop.
Bath also has three covered bridges. What was the purpose of having a covered wooden bridge in the olden days? It was not to protect people from the elements, or to look pretty in scenic shots when cameras were invented. The roofing was to protect the wooden elements of the bridge itself. Replacing a weathered roof is a rather simple job. Rebuilding a rotting wooden bridge is something a community would rather not be forced to do.
We also learned that in the winter the local folk used to use horse drawn sleighs. They couldn’t cross through a covered bridge that was bare of snow, and so it was someone’s job to shovel snow onto the bridge. Now that we ride around in horseless carriages the job of shoveling snow onto bridges has become obsolete.
Folks in New Hampshire are proud that they were the first of the British North American colonies to establish a government independent of Great Britain, and they did that in January, 1776. The state motto is famously, “Live Free or Die.”
As a conservative state that believes in keeping government from interfering in private lives, the government is kept small by having a restricted tax base. No income tax. No sales tax. Just property taxes to support schools and a few other necessary things.
We’ll be in New Hampshire only two more days. Will that be enough to get a pulse of the place? Probably not. But we’ll see.
Vermont
Vermont has the distinction of having the smallest capital city in the nation. Montpelier is a tiny town with just 12,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless the state is home to some corporations known for their progressive policies. Ben & Jerry’s is one of these, and its original ice cream factory is close to Stowe (Sorry that we didn’t have time to visit). The Cabot cheese coop produces some fine cheddar, and is unusual in having a Department of Gratitude. This department has a mobile kitchen which gets deployed in locations where volunteers are helping clean up after a natural disaster. Cabot volunteers serve other volunteers.
And then there is Green Mountain Coffee. This gourmet roast has a special relationship with Keurig coffee makers, but it is not what I thought. My assumption had been that Keurig is a German company that partnered with a little American company. Wrong. Keurig was started by a trio of MIT engineers, and the owner of Green Mountain Coffee invested in it and eventually bought it. The company is now known as Keurig Green Mountain. It is a leader in sustainability programs and fair trade for coffee farmers.
New Hampshire
Our first stop in New Hampshire was in the town of Bath, population 1,077 as of 2010. In 1790 this tiny town in New Hampshire had a population of 493, so it hasn’t grown much in 220 years.
The 35 in our group from England appreciated that the town was named for the first Earl of Bath. Most of them, and the two Americans, also appreciated that the town has a great ice cream shop.
Bath also has three covered bridges. What was the purpose of having a covered wooden bridge in the olden days? It was not to protect people from the elements, or to look pretty in scenic shots when cameras were invented. The roofing was to protect the wooden elements of the bridge itself. Replacing a weathered roof is a rather simple job. Rebuilding a rotting wooden bridge is something a community would rather not be forced to do.
We also learned that in the winter the local folk used to use horse drawn sleighs. They couldn’t cross through a covered bridge that was bare of snow, and so it was someone’s job to shovel snow onto the bridge. Now that we ride around in horseless carriages the job of shoveling snow onto bridges has become obsolete.
Folks in New Hampshire are proud that they were the first of the British North American colonies to establish a government independent of Great Britain, and they did that in January, 1776. The state motto is famously, “Live Free or Die.”
As a conservative state that believes in keeping government from interfering in private lives, the government is kept small by having a restricted tax base. No income tax. No sales tax. Just property taxes to support schools and a few other necessary things.
We’ll be in New Hampshire only two more days. Will that be enough to get a pulse of the place? Probably not. But we’ll see.
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