Category Archives: social capital
Vermont Town Meeting… Not Her Grandfather’s Tradition
Posted today on the Calais Front Porch Forum by Sharon…
My farming grandfather didn’t go to Town Meeting. His was a north-facing sugarbush, so he sugared late and Town Meeting Day was when he set out the taps. He didn’t go to Town Meeting because he “had” to work that day. Could he have set out the taps on Monday or Wednesday? Of course — but he was set in his ways and didn’t care enough about Town Meeting to shuffle his schedule. Vermont’s small town residents have always had — and still do have — choices about whether to attend Town Meeting, and they made (and make) their choices based on their personal sense of priorities for the day.
I, in contrast to my grandfather, have an employer who expects me to show up for work every day. And with a new job, I don’t have vacation time earned. But I worked it out because it matters to me to do so, and even without a vacation day to use I’ll be there (as I have for most or all Town Meetings in the 10+ years we’ve lived in Calais) voting to keep our Town Meeting alive.
Town Meeting is a tradition in Vermont established by our forefathers. But that’s not a reason to keep it or reject it. We should keep it or not for its relevance to today, the world we want to live in, and the world we want to leave to our children. Gathering together one time per year to decide our town and school budgets, elect local officers, and debate policy both local and beyond is an important part of the richness of our community. It’s one of the things that makes Calais, Vermont special. I’m with Erica. If we have to switch the day let’s do that — or even move it around from year to year to accommodate a variety of schedules — but let’s not be hasty to toss it away. Please join me and vote “no” on Town Articles 11, 12, and 13 and the School District Article 5. Thank you.
Northfield improving town one project at a time
Shared by Leslie on the Northfield Front Porch Forum today…
I just want to celebrate that we are 10 members away from reaching 600 people in town with one newsletter!! That is so fantastic considering that a year and a half ago there were 40 people at a GO! Northfield meeting saying that the one big problem in our town is a way to get out any information. See what can happen when we all get together to improve our beautiful town! This is such a great resource! Let’s use it to improve this town one project at a time!!
And now every community in Vermont has this same opportunity. Go to FrontPorchForum.com to check out what your Vermont neighbors are talking about.
FPF in the news
FPF co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis spoke on the air recently with two very engaging hosts…
• Common Good Vermont on Channel 17 Town Meeting Television
And more and more community newspapers and Vermont organizations’ newsletters and websites are mentioning Front Porch Forum to their readers as a great resource. Here’s a recent example…
7 Words for 2014 FPF Raffle
Enter the 7 Words for 2014 FPF Raffle and win a sweet prize! Enter before noon Jan. 9… just submit a posting to your Front Porch Forum that contains EXACTLY seven (7) words and you’ll be in the running for one of these great prizes
• One Apple iPod Touch from Small Dog Electronics
• One overnight room at The Essex Resort and Spa
• Four passes to the Pump House Indoor Waterpark at Jay Peak
• One $50 gift card from Laughing Moon Chocolates
• Seven pints of SoYo frozen yogurt
• One-month family membership to The Edge
• Two tickets to Golden Dragon Acrobats on March 5 at the Flynn Theater
• One $115 gift bag of gardening gear from Gardener’s Supply Company: A puddle proof field bag filled with an array of gardening gear, including Pocket Snips & Pruners, Nitrile Gloves, Fiskars Trowel, set of Wooden Garden Markers, U Mark Garden Marker, & 12 packets of vegetable seeds
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who contributed the prizes listed above.
I’ll post some of the entries here later see submissions from past years here. Happy posting!
P.S. Comments on this blog posting are welcome, but they will not enter you into the raffle. To enter the raffle, go to FrontPorchForum.com, LOGIN, then click SUBMIT POSTING.
UPDATE: Wow! Front Porch Forum members submitted more than 3,000 postings as entries into the 7 Words for 2014 Raffle. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Without further ado, the winners of the prize drawing are…
One Apple iPod Touch from Small Dog Electronics
• Matt Riley, Middletown Springs
Saw a snowy owl near Addison Sunday.
One overnight room at The Essex Resort & Spa
• Adele Sweet-Mcfarlin, Reading
Kissing nuns? Don’t get in the habit.
Four passes to the Pump House Indoor Waterpark at Jay Peak
• Pamela Campbell, Montpelier
Wanted: free plane ticket to anywhere warmer.
One $50 gift card from Laughing Moon Chocolates
• Saint Rosner, Marlboro
Why’s the sand wet? Because the seaweed.
Seven pints of SoYo frozen yogurt
• Jane Sobel, North Bennington
North Bennington walks vanquish cabin fever blues.
One-month family membership to The Edge
• Susi Taylor, Burlington
Life before Front Porch Forum was complicated.
Two tickets to Golden Dragon Acrobats on March 5 at the Flynn Theater
• George Brewer, Middlebury
For Sale, portable confessional, YES portable confessional.
One field bag full of gardening gear from Gardener’s Supply Company
• Amy Marcinko, Richford
Front Porch Forum is better than Facebook.
Winooski neighbors rally to aid of fire-victim family
Vermonters have always helped neighbors whose homes burn. And with Front Porch Forum at their disposal, this response can easily increase 10 or 100 fold.
Here’s an example from this week in Winooski from the Burlington Free Press…
The Winooski School District has raised over $4,000 so far as part of a fundraiser for the victims of an apartment fire that displaced 21 city residents last Thursday night, Superintendant Sean McMannon said. Six students were directly affected and displaced by the Malletts Bay Avenue blaze while two other students had family members who were affected, McMannon said. The Winooski district offices are collecting cash and check donations only, according to McMannon…
McMannon said Wednesday that the fundraiser had begun the day after the fire, and the district has mainly gotten word out through its website, a post on the Front Porch Forum website, and through emails within the school…
Since Thanksgiving, 21 families and 60 people have been displaced from their homes because of fires, according to a newsrelease issued by the Vermont and the New Hampshire Upper Valley Region Red Cross Wednesday. The Red Cross, who assisted in relief efforts for the victims Thursday, said fire is “the disaster most likely to befall someone in our region.”
[C]ity manager Katherine “Deac” Decarreau said Winooski citizens have been “extraordinarily generous.” “The generosity is overwhelming, and from all areas from the community,” Decarreau said. “It’s really heartwarming.”
Donations to victims of the Malletts Bay Avenue apartment fire can be sent to JFK, Main Lobby, Middle School-High School or District or mailing to WSD, 60 Normand Street, Winooski, VT 05404. Checks can be made out to: WSD-MBA Fire Support.
Caroling on Caroline with Carolyn
Caroling is one of our few remaining traditions where it’s acceptable to go door-to-door in your neighborhood and engage neighbors. Trick-or-treating… student fund-raisers… campaigning during election season… it’s a short list.
Our neighbor and local photographer, Carolyn Bates, has been organizing Caroling on Caroline Street with Carolyn for 20+ years… and it’s always a treat. Last night’s snowfall set the perfect scene. Thanks Carolyn et al.!
Manchester FPF gets rolling
Vermonters in Manchester are talking about their new Front Porch Forum. Posted today…
From Helen:
I have been a fan of Front Porch Forum since I first heard about it several years ago, when it started in the Burlington area. At the time, I was working for The Orton Family Foundation, and we at the Foundation were developing, testing, and advocating for a wide range of community building tools. FPF was in its early stages, but already winning awards, including one I think from the Foundation.
When I am not at home in Manchester, I spend a lot of time in Lyme, New Hampshire, a community that has its own “listserve” – not technically an FPF, but certainly similar. Daily people are looking for something, selling or giving away something, looking for service, seeking lost pets, finding ride-shares, announcing meetings, inviting people to events, etc, etc. I imagine that FPF in Manchester can and will develop into the same sort of well appreciated and powerful local communication tool. In addition to meeting this sort of individual need, the listserve enables lively discussions on community topics….for example, a current topic in Lyme has to do with whether the community should or should not have a skating surface on the common, the related issues, and who is willing step up to maintain it.
At the moment, I have nothing to sell or give away, nor am I looking for a service, but for sure I will post a note when I need to. I am, however, encouraging my friends to join, and I hope you will too. The more people involved, the more powerful the site will be. For those of you who are looking for something or have something to sell or give away, go ahead and post it to get the ball rolling!
Followed by this posting from Linda:
Your post regarding Front Porch Forum was well said and received. I too was living in the Burlington area when FPF was in its infancy and enjoyed hearing about neighborhood yard sales, items for sale, and other general neighborhood news. To my knowledge, nothing inappropriate ever made it to my desktop and it was easy to communicate back and forth with someone seeking a service or product that I might be able to supply. Looking forward to hearing from others in our neighborhood soon.
Upper Valley and NEK neighbors now connecting on Front Porch Forum
Vermont towns in the Upper Valley, as well as the Northeast Kingdom, now all have access Front Porch Forum.
Please share the news with folks you know in these parts of the Green Mountain State, including St. Johnsbury, White River Junction, Royalton, and many other locations.
People use FPF in other parts of Vermont to share catamount sightings (really!), recommend snow plow drivers, find lost cats, report break-ins, sell cars, give away dressers, and much more. And now every Vermont community has its own FPF to do the same.
Please join at http://frontporchforum.com
Front Porch Forum comes to Montpelier and Barre
Live in Montpelier or Barre? Know folks who do? Please send one and all to FrontPorchForum.com to check out FPF and sign up.
This fall, thanks to the Vermont Council on Rural Development and other partners, FPF has been able to bring its community building service to Vermont’s Capital region… and to the entire state.
Vermonters use FPF to connect with neighbors about snow plow recommendations, babysitters, finding lost cell phones, reporting break-ins, selling snow tires, sharing moose sightings and much more.
Please help us spread the news… we depend on word of mouth. Send people to http://FrontPorchForum.com. Thanks!
Bennington and Brattleboro now on Front Porch Forum
Please let folks you know in Brattleboro and Bennington, VT, know that Front Porch Forum is now serving these communities. Send them to FrontPorchForum.com to check it out and sign up.
FPF helps neighbors connect by hosting online local forums. More than 60,000 Vermont households subscribe across every town in the state.
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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