Happy Vermont

Mar 08 2025 78 ep. 28 mins 21

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Stories about Vermont places you love, told by the people who live here. Visit www.happyvermont.com.

Society & Culture

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The Magic of Cochran's Ski Area

Mar 08 2025 31 mins

Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond is tiny but mighty. The ski area was started in the early 1960s by Mickey and Ginny Cochran. Their children, Bob, Barbara Ann, Marilyn and Lindy, came to be known as the “The Skiing Cochrans.” They represented the U.S. in the Winter Olympics, with Barbara Ann winning the gold in 1972. In this episode, Barbara Ann talks about the ski area's ear

Quirks, Collections and Taxidermy at Vermont Libraries

Feb 21 2025 48 mins

You can learn a lot about a town and its history by visiting the local library. The Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport has a taxidermy collection that includes an alligator, bob cat, porcupine and birds. The Rutland Free Library originally served as a post office and courthouse. There are also jail cells in the basement. In this episode, Jessamyn West, a library technologist from

A Vermont Original: Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley's Gift to the World

Feb 03 2025 33 mins

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley was the first person to ever photograph a single snowflake. On January 15, 1885—at age 19—he used photographic plates to capture his first snowflake image at his family's farm in Jericho. His images of snowflakes are on permanent display at the historical society in the Old Red Mill in Jericho. "He had the mind of a scientist and the soul of a poet,"

Southern Vermont, In Memory of My Brother

Dec 12 2024 11 mins

Host Erica Houskeeper talks about her brother, Matt, who died while kayaking in Southern Vermont last summer. It happened in a region of the state that Matt loved exploring. In honor of Matt, Erica highlights a bit of history and geography in this part of Vermont.

A Good Life in the Shadow of Terrible Mountain

Nov 22 2024 35 mins

Susan Leader is a well-known potter based in Andover, where she grew up at the base of Terrible Mountain. In 1950, Susan's parents moved to Andover and settled at Popplewood Farm, where she spent her childhood. Today, she lives on a piece of land her parents left her just up the road from her childhood home. In this episode, we talk about Terrible Mountain, Susan's unconventiona

What's In a Name? Stories about Vermont Places and Names

Oct 31 2024 31 mins

Steve Farrow grew up in Holland, Vermont and now lives in Newport in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Steve studied at UVM in the 1980s and his master’s thesis focused on Vermont place names. He now teacher geography at Community College of Vermont. In this Happy Vermont podcast episode, Steve and host Erica Houskeeper talk about Vermont place names and lost names like Elysiana, Hu

Vermont Foliage, Forests and Tourist Towns

Sep 24 2024 38 mins

Mike Snyder of Stowe was Vermont’s Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation for over a decade before leaving his post in December 2022. He’s now working as an independent consultant. Mike and host Erica Houskeeper met up at Brownsville Forest in Stowe to talk about fall foliage, forest health, and what it's like living in a popular tourist town. Visit my website Happy Verm

Burlington's History is Hiding in Plain Sight

Sep 10 2024 33 mins

Glenn Fay of Burlington is an author, historian and seventh-generation Vermonter. He’s also a descendant of one of the Green Mountain Boys. Glenn wrote Hidden History of Burlington Vermont and has a new book out, Ambition of the Remarkable Family of Ethan Allen. On a sunny day in July, we met at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington, where Glenn serves as a board member.

Art in the Heart of Montgomery

Aug 01 2024 36 mins

Traveling east on Route 118 along the Trout River is a nostalgic scene with covered bridges, barns and mountain views. After a few bends in the road, a clear view of the Montgomery Center for the Arts unfolds. The Greek Revival building was empty the first time Sebastian Araujo saw it when he and his partner moved to town from Provincetown, Mass. The iconic building, perched at the

Art and Whimsy at the Sparkle Barn in Wallingford

Jul 15 2024 16 mins

Artist and entrepreneur Stacy Harshman was living in New York and looking for a change. She Googled "nature, therapy, community, work and mountains" and landed in Vermont. Seven years ago, she started the Sparkle Barn in Wallingford, which has become a wildly popular destination in this small town in Rutland County. The Sparkle Barn is a gift shop and art installation located in a