What I Did On My Holidays

Reporting on my recent trip to Mount Ascutney, Vermont.

1) It was too early for the colour show but the leaves were starting to turn and the weather was better than the forecast suggested.

Ascutney Mountain Resort with the steeple of the Brownsville Church on the far side of the creek seen below.

2) I went to live theatre at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and saw Samuel Becket's Waiting for Godot. It was performed by the Classical Theatre of Harlem who have presented it a number of times in the streets of recovering New Orleans. Why is it that I need to be "on holiday", away from our own hub of culture (Northumberland County in Ontario), in order to see this amazing play for the very first time?

3) The wonderful Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site (less than 30 minutes from the Resort) drew me back again, this time not so much to view his sculptures as to wander in the natural beauty of the place.

I was able to see the original of the Shaw Memorial on the Boston Common earlier this year.

Saint-Gaudens' home, Cornish, New Hampshire.

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4) Also nearby is a Simon Pearce glass factory where very nice and quite expensive (well, middle of the line, I guess) glass products are made. It's always fun watching glass blowers. These two were making the same thing all day, about 50 pitchers - not so much fun for them, perhaps!

5) Before I left home I'd planned to visit the Main Street Museum in White River Junction. I did, but still haven't figured out whether it was worth the bother or not. It is a one-roomed mishmash of things extraordinary and I was left to wander and read labels. I think that the web site is much more interesting than the reality (http://www.mainstreetmuseum.org/).

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6) The library at Brownsville (the village home of Ascutney Mountain Resort) opens only for a few hours on Friday afternoon. I made a point of visiting and had an enjoyable 1/2 hour conversation with the librarian (do we need respiratory specialists in Ontario?). In particular she wanted me to see the Plaque of Remembrance they have listing those from the area who served from '61-'65 - Civil War that is.

Evidently you could get someone else to go to war for you, or pay your way out of being drafted. One article which I found on-line reports the following for the State of Wisconsin:

The 1863 draft was not very successful. Of the 14,955 men drafted state-wide, 628 actually served, 252 hired substitutes, 6,285 were discharged for physical reasons, 5,081 paid the $300 commutation fee, and 2,689 never reported.

7) On the way home I stopped at Sackets Harbour, a vital ship-building and army staging site for the US during the War of 1812 as they fought the British/Canadians for supremacy on the Great Lakes. On the waterfront there is a staffed Heritage Center with the 1860s furnished home of the Naval Commandant. For a nominal entry fee you get a fully guided tour of that building, a self-guided tour of the grounds and a smaller display on life on board ship, and a viewing of two constantly running videos.

Sackets Harbor Marina.