Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 21: May 22-28, 2019

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16 • NEWS BRIEFS The Mountain Times • May 22-28, 2019 2019 River Road Concert Series Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm Rain or Shine July 11: Twangtown Paramours (Sophisticated Americana) July 18: Panhandlers (Steel Drum Band) July 25: John Lackard Blues Band (Authentic Blues) Aug 1: Steve Hartman (Folk Rock) Aug 8: The Shananagans (Irish & American Folk) Aug 15: Moose Crossing (Contemporary Jazz) Aug 22: Ball in the House (R&B/ Soul/Pop A Capella) Aug 29: My Son the Hurricane Bring a lawn chair & a picnic! Enjoy the show. All concerts are free and all are welcome! Sherburne Memorial Library, 2998 River Road, Killington, VT June 24-August 23 Ages 4-13 Pricing options range from $50 to $1881 with options to come play for all 9 weeks, weekly, or daily. Little Explorers Ages 4-6 Jr Explorers Ages 7-9 Come explore with us through hikes, arts & crafts, swimming, games, and more Rek & Trek Ages 10-13 Come explore the Killington Valley with trips to local parks, hikes, mountain biking, & kayaking To register or for more information go to killingtonrec.com
The Mountain Times • May 22-28, 2019 NEWS BRIEFS • 17 Agriculture: continued from page 8 managing their ecosystems and stewarding their land in the face of climate change. More agriculture education, whole milk in schools and a campaign that focuses on how important dairy is to Vermont’s economy is another priority for farmers. The Agency will be working with a host of partners on these issues. Meeting the challenge To lead the effort, dairy farmers asked us to create a dairy advisory panel to facilitate the conversation on their suggestions and challenges. We will do so. Farmers also told us to keep working with Washington on dairy policy and prices. The Vermont Milk Commission has proposed a growth management plan. We heard from farmers they want the Agency to pursue this important, nationwide discussion with Congress. These are just a few outcomes of the Dairy Summit. Like Vermont’s farmers, we are open to new ideas, change and a commitment to improve the backbone of Vermont: Agriculture. Anson Tebbetts Submitted Pictured (l-r) Claudio Fort from Rutland Regional Medical Center, artist Don Ramey, Rutland City Alderman Lisa Ryan, and Steve Costello from Green Mountain Power celebrate the unveiling of the new 54th Regiment sculpture in downtown Rutland. Sculpture: Fifth sculpture unveiled continued from page 4 equal rights campaigners, I became more at ease with depicting them in battle,” Ramey said. “These were men fighting and dying not for some abstract political concept, but for their own real freedom, and the actual physical freedom of their fellow men and women still held in bondage. It’s a privilege to be able to honor the extraordinary valor of ordinary local citizens. Rutland’s current residents can be rightly proud of their legacy.” The regiment was credited with demonstrating incredible bravery, changing military views of African Americans common at the time, and exhibiting tremendous leadership in rejecting military pay until their demands for equal pay were met. Lisa Ryan, a charter member of the Rutland NAACP and member of the Rutland City Board of Aldermen, said as an African American woman, she is proud of the sculpture. “This sculpture is not only a representation of a significant moment in history for African Americans, but it is an opportunity to welcome and celebrate diversity in our community,” Ryan said. “I feel proud that the Rutland community is making a meaningful connection to education and inclusion.” The Rev. Arnold Thomas, a former board member of Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity and supporter of the Vermont African American Heritage Trail, said the artwork would be added to the trail later this year, and would inspire students and visitors alike. “While Vermont is one of the whitest states in the Union, it has a rich African American history of national significance, with Rutland playing a key role,” Thomas said. GMP Vice President Steve Costello said the 20 men averaged 27 years of age. One, George Hart, was born into slavery in Louisiana, but came to Vermont with Captain Edmund Morse of the 7th Vermont Regiment. The men included a barber, a mason, laborers, and farmers. They included two sets of brothers, a father and son, and two brothers in law. Several are buried in Rutland, including William Scott, who enlisted at the age of 42. “He was wounded in the head during the Battle of Olustee in February 1864,” Costello said. “He was discharged for disability in May 1865, and returned to Rutland, where he died in March 1873. His grave in West Street Cemetery includes one of the most poignant epitaphs in the cemetery: ‘I have fought my last battle, I have gone to rest.’” Mayor Dave Allaire and MKF Properties President Mark Foley Jr. unveiled the artwork near the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row, as CSSC Executive Director Carol Driscoll unveiled an accompanying bronze plaque. “It’s a tremendous piece of art honoring bravery and service,” Driscoll said. Added Foley, who owns the building: “I am honored to be able to celebrate this important piece of Rutland history, and share it with locals and visitors alike.” The Rutland Sculpture Trail is a collaboration of the CSSC, Green Mountain Power, MKF Properties, and Vermont Quarries. Other sculptures in the series include: • “Stone Legacy,” a tribute to the region’s stone industry funded by GMP and MKF, in Marketplace Park. • A tribute to Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” which stands outside Phoenix Books, which underwrote it. • A piece honoring Olympic skier Andrea Mead Lawrence, funded by John and Sue Casella. • A sculpture of Revolutionary War hero Ann Story and her son Solomon, funded by the extended Costello family, which stands at the corner of West and Cottage streets. • A tribute to Rutland native Martin Henry Freeman, the country’s first African American college president, funded by Dr. Fred and Jennifer Bagley, the Wakefield family, Donald Billings and Sara Pratt. It is expected to be completed late this summer. • A piece honoring “Bill W.,” a Dorset native raised in Rutland who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous, also expected to be created this summer. It is funded by three anonymous donors. Organizers continue work on plans and fundraising for other sculptures. The series is intended to honor important local people and history, create community pride, beautify downtown Rutland, and draw locals and tourists into the city center. Proctor market: continued from page 3 New owners for Market on West Street AUNT GAIL CALLED THE COUPLE “TWICE IN ONE WEEK BEFORE THE AUCTION,” JENN SAID, TO URGE THEM TO VIEW THE STORE AND BID ON IT. Chris’s parents, John and Helena (Pietryka) Curtis, were born and raised in Proctor and Florence, respectively; after high school John took a highway engineering job with the state of Connecticut, where Chris was born and grew up. When Chris told Jenn his dream was to open a general store in Vermont, she was equally enthusiastic. Long before the auction Jenn and Chris had visited Proctor and stopped at the empty store to look around. The Proctor store had been vacant almost a year and the tax sale was held May 18, 2018. Aunt Gail and Uncle Albert Curtis live in town. When the store was put on the auction block, Aunt Gail called the couple “twice in one week before the auction,” Jenn said, to urge them to view the store and bid on it. Jenn said she had one bid left at the auction and wasn’t going above a certain figure. She bid against the only other bidder, and he stopped. “It seemed meant to be. If it wasn’t for her urging, we would not be here. But it feels right and we’re going to give it everything we have,” Jenn told the Mountain Times. Jenn was born and raised in Windsor, Connecticut and worked as a nurse. The couple bought a run-down farm in Connecticut. Chris, a landscaper of 34 years’ experience, turned the farm around. They sold it to come to Vermont. The Curtises closed on the building in May and drove back and forth, gutted the store and worked on it, sold the farm, and moved above the store, where they now live, Dec. 22. The only original object is the butcher block from Frank LaPenna, Chris Curtis’ second cousin, who ran the store from the late ‘80s-early‘90s. “Everybody loved him,” Jenn said. “We loved this, my husband planed it out, we stained it and put it on this sewing machine base.” Another original feature is the walkin cooler behind the kitchen area. It is lined with varnished matchstick paneling, the doors have the original heavy hardware, and it still operates off a compressor in the basement. The Market On West Street will carry cigarettes, displayed on an antique metal cigarette display, CBD products and lottery tickets, but no vape products. There will be a refrigerated grab-andgo for take-home meals, an ice cream chest and a candy counter – and an ATM machine for those last-minute cash needs. Jenn calls Chris a “soup guy” who makes soups from scratch using recipes from Grandmother Curtis. Jenn prepares daily specials from scratch, including pastries and sub rolls. They plan to sell mostly fresh, locally-sourced goods, organic when they can but “you pay a lot more. We will be going to the farmers’ market sometimes but I do want to try to utilize local farmers,” Jenn said. The produce will be unsprayed but not necessarily certified organic. The Market On West Street will be open six days a week, and the Curtises will man the store themselves. The Curtises have done most of the work themselves, along with Chris’s brother Jeff, hiring local tradesmen for plumbing and electrical work. Jenn’s nephew is a certified mechanic who set up the surveillance cameras and the POS register, which will also keep inventory. Jenn also feels she has roots in Proctor. A new enterprise energizes the whole town, she said. “I want the town to be happier and more active. This is the turnaround.” The Curtises are appreciative of the warm welcome they have received in town. Town Manager Stan Wilbur stops in every day and orders for a sandwich, which is yet to be made. “We don’t want the town to want a market, we want the town to have a market,” Chris added.
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Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 21: May 22-28, 2019

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