PODCAST · society
Happy Vermont
by happyvermont
Places you love in Vermont. Visit www.happyvermont.com for more Vermont stories.
Episodes
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Built to Last: An Unconventional Life at Does' Leap Farm
George van Vlaanderen and Kristan Doolan made a decision three decades ago that would completely change their lives: they started a farm. The couple settled on a piece of land in Bakersfield with no driveway, no power, water or buildings. They lived in a yurt for four and a half years on the...
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The Stone Chapel at von Trapp Family Lodge
In the woods behind the von Trapp Family Lodge is a tiny stone chapel. The chapel was built more than 75 years ago by Werner von Trapp. He was the second son of Capt. Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead. In the movie The Sound of Music, Werner is depicted by the character named...
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Main Street in Jamaica: Small Town, Big Heart
On Main Street in the southern Vermont town of Jamaica, there’s an old inn that’s been part of the village for more than 200 years. Painted yellow with purple shutters, the Jamaica Haus is run by Benzi Ross, who returned to Vermont after many years out west. Her sister, Tini Hamilton, operates a...
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Grit, Gratitude and Ice Cream at Kiss the Cow Farm
At Kiss the Cow Farm in Barnard, Lisa and Randy Robar have built a life centered around hard work, sustainability, and a love for real food. The couple shares how it all began with a cow named Sophie living in their garage, and how their farmstead eventually grew into an organic dairy, ice cream...
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A Personal Touch at Good Hands Creamery in Windsor
Liz Bleakley traded her career in medicine for a new adventure: becoming an artisan cheesemaker in Windsor, Vermont. In this episode of Happy Vermont, Liz shares how she left her busy job as a physician assistant in Atlanta and, together with her family, moved to a small Vermont town, where she...
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Bringing a Vermont Dairy Farm Back to Life
Sheena Brown is a fourth-generation dairy farmer at Skyline Holsteins in Derby. Her great-grandfather bought this farm 81 years ago. As a child, she spent her days bottle-feeding lambs, walking a pet pig down the road, and following her father through the barn, convinced this was exactly where…
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The Call of the Loon
In this episode of Happy Vermont, host Erica Houskeeper explores the story of the common loon's recovery in Vermont. Inspired by a personal encounter with a loon call after her brother’s passing on Sherman Reservoir, Erica meets experts Eric Hanson and Eloise Girard of the Vermont Center for...
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In Rochester, Books, Community, and Cats
Sandy Lincoln owns The Bookery in Rochester, a cozy small-town shop that focuses on antiquarian and used books. It's also a place where visitors can slow down, browse, and feel at home. With resident cats, quirky displays, and a friendly atmosphere, The Bookery is just as much about community as…
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In Sharon, a Beloved Music Center Looks to the Future
The Seven Stars Arts Center is one of those rare places that blends history, community, reinvention, and a touch of quirkiness. What began as a Baptist church later became a grange hall, then a garage, and eventually a healing arts center. Now the building is an education and performing arts…
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The Magic of Maple Season in Vermont
Maple sugaring in Vermont is a tradition built on hard work, risk, and reward. When it comes to sugaring, the days are long, but the season is short. At Judd's Wayeeses Farms in Morgan, fourth generation Vermonter Jim Judd and his wife Donna Young have spent years perfecting their craft. “People...
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Vermont General Stores: Past, Present and Future
There’s a lot to love about Vermont general stores. This episode includes an interview with Ben Doyle, the president of the Preservation Trust of Vermont in Montpelier. The organization has helped many Vermont towns save or reopen general stores. I also chat with Dan and Alison Singleton of...
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Reviving a Town Hall in Townshend
Cory Ciklin and a group of volunteers are helping to bring the Townshend Town Hall and Opera House back to its former glory. https://happyvermont.com
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Celebrating Brattleboro's Creative Spirit
This holiday season, windows on Brattleboro's Main Street and beyond are being decorated for the inaugural Festival of Miniatures. Festival organizer Melany Kahn talks about the event and the town she loves. She also shares insight into Brattleboro's strengths and challenges, and why local art...
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Exploring Lost Ski Slopes in Underhill
Jamie Ide of Jericho spends a lot of time on the western side of Mount Mansfield—where you’ll find Underhill State Park and trails to hike to the top of Vermont’s highest peak. But it turns out there was a ski area there, too. Jamie talks about finding relics of the old ski area in Underhill and...
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Turning a Beetlejuice Icon into an East Corinth Community Hub
Kendall Gendron's favorite movie is Beetlejuice. When the Seattle native met her future husband and discovered that his hometown was East Corinth—where the movie was filmed—it felt like a match made in heaven. In 2016, the couple moved from the Pacific Northwest to East Corinth. When the...
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An Ode to Trees, Forests and Foliage
Mike Snyder is passionate about keeping Vermont forests healthy, especially in the face of climate change. We met up on a wooded trail in Stowe to talk about the consequences of overuse, the foliage outlook for this year, and how we can be more mindful when we’re exploring the woods.
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Vermont Fire Towers
At one time there were 38 fire towers in Vermont. Now there are fewer, but Vermont fire towers are more popular than ever. Luke O’Brien, a forest recreation specialist with the State of Vermont, talks about the history of Vermont fire towers and why they matter. Visit my website: happyvermont.com...
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Treasure Digging on South Mountain in Bristol
South Mountain in Bristol is a legendary place. Ethan Mitchell, a history and mathematics teacher, grew up in nearby New Haven. He’s a folklore enthusiast who has researched tales of money digging in Vermont, including stories about people searching for treasure on South Mountain....
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Sculptures in the Wild at Vermont Rest Areas
Along Vermont’s interstates stand a unique collection of 16 abstract sculptures created by internationally renowned artists. more than 50 years ago. These sculptures were placed at rest areas along Interstates 89 and 91 in the early 1970s. Decades later, most of them are now hidden by forest...
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Food, Music & Community at Crossmolina Farm in West Corinth
Margaret Loftus is a former public defender. She’s now a farmer. She and her husband Jonathan left Brooklyn for Vermont in 2006 in search of a better place to raise their kids—Keelan, Tobin and Wendell—and grow their own food. After years of learning about farming, growing organic vegetables, and...
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Vermont Ancient Roads
Host Erica Houskeeper talks with attorney Spencer Crispe of West Brattleboro and forester Norm Arseneault of Granville about why Vermont ancient roads still matter. Subscribe to my newsletter Support Happy Vermont on Patreon Visit HappyVermont.com Get in touch: [email protected]
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Love, Loss and Ice Cream
Chris Wilcox is vice president of Wilcox Ice Cream in Sunderland. Chris was my first friend when my family moved to Vermont in 1979. Not only were we friends, we were neighbors, too. I would zig zag my way through a couple of fields and cross a dirt to get to her house. The farm you see just…
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Memories of a Mountain Top Hotel on Mount Mansfield
Hotels used to stand at the top of some of Vermont's mountains, like Mount Mansfield, Camel's Hump, Snake Mountain and Mount Equinox. Mary Skelton spent eight childhood summers at the Mount Mansfield Summit Hotel. It was a hotel her dad managed, and he served as the hotel's postmaster. In this...
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More Stories about Vermont Place Names
Vermont has no shortage of offbeat place names. What is special about place names is that they come with a story, either a true story or one that's a mix of myth, folklore and fact. In this episode, host Erica Houskeeper shares some of Vermont's interesting place names. Support Happy Vermont on...
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Stratton: Forests, a Fire Tower, and How the Town Nearly Disappeared
The town of Stratton is best known for the popular ski area, Stratton Mountain Resort. But beyond the 3,000-acre ski area, the town has 30,000 acres and about 300 full-time residents. At one time in the 1930s, the population was so small that there were fears the town would go the same way as the...
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The Magic of Cochran's Ski Area
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…
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Quirks, Collections and Taxidermy at Vermont Libraries
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...
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A Vermont Original: Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley's Gift to the World
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...
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Southern Vermont, In Memory of My Brother
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.
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A Good Life in the Shadow of Terrible Mountain
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...
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What's In a Name? Stories about Vermont Places and Names
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…
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Vermont Foliage, Forests and Tourist Towns
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…
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Burlington's History is Hiding in Plain Sight
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...
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Art in the Heart of Montgomery
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...
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Art and Whimsy at the Sparkle Barn in Wallingford
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…
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A Place Called Adamant
Adamant is an unincorporated Vermont village between Calais and East Montpelier. Its geographical boundaries are hard to define. In this episode of Happy Vermont, Erica Houskeeper talks with three women about Adamant's history, the local co-op that's a community hub, and how Adamant is a state of...
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Pieces of History on Mount Philo
Mount Philo in Charlotte stands at 968 feet. It offers some of the most beautiful views, plus hiking trails, an auto road and campsites. It became Vermont’s first state park 100 years ago in 1924. Judy Chaves is the author of Secrets of Mount Philo: A Guide to the History of Vermont's First State...
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An Outdoor Recreation Renaissance in Poultney
Outdoor recreation is breathing new life into Poultney, which is home to Lake St. Catherine, the Poultney River, the Delaware and Hudson Rail Trail and Slate Valley Trails. James Johnson lives off the grid in a yurt on land once owned by his grandmother. He's also the founder of the Fifth Season...
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Backyard Rope Tows in Vermont
Pete and Sandy Gebbie are farmers and skiers. They have three rope tows on their 400-acre property, which sits at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. When the snow is good, friends come over to ski. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the first rope tow, which opened in Woodstock in January…
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The Early Days of Skiing at Stowe and the Remains of a Plane on Camel's Hump
Vermont’s skiing had a big year in 1934. Ninety years ago, the first rope tow opened in Woodstock. It’s also when the Stowe Ski Patrol got its start, when the Civilian Conservation Corps were busy building trails in Vermont, and when the first purpose cut ski trail was completed on Mount…
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In Vermont, Why Are Things Where They Are?
Jane Dorney of Richmond is a geographer who helps people connect to the Vermont landscape and understand how it evolved. She approaches her work with the geographer’s question: Why are things where they are? In this episode of Happy Vermont, host Erica Houskeeper talks to Jane about settlement...
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Appreciating Mount Tom in Woodstock
Mount Tom in Woodstock isn’t a particularly tall mountain. But its environmental legacy, easy public access and central place in the community are monumental. Mount Tom is where you’ll find miles of trails, beautiful views, a shining mountain top star, and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National...
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An Accomplished Marathon Runner Shares His Drive to Help Others
John Lent, of Waltham, started volunteering many years ago at the Vergennes Community Foodshelf with his late wife, Mary Ann. She was the driving force behind the couple’s volunteering efforts in the community. After Mary Ann died in 2020, John decided to keep volunteering in her honor. John is…
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Finding a Home for Roller-Skating in Vermont
Alicia Taylor and Joanna Alpizar met at a pop-up roller-skating event in Burlington. The two BIPOC women became fast friends and are now on a mission to create a public, welcoming, year-round space for roller-skating in the Burlington, Vermont area. In this podcast episode of Happy Vermont…
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Disappearances in Glastenbury, Witches in Pownal and Vampires in Manchester
Jamie Franklin opened an exhibition at Bennington Museum earlier this year called Haunted Vermont, which explores disappearances in the Bennington Triangle and the work of mystery writer Shirley Jackson. Jackson lived in North Bennington and some of her work was inspired by the strange happenings...
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Hawk Watching on Putney Mountain
Every fall, John Anderson of Dummerston and a group of volunteers monitor birds that are migrating south for the season. For decades, these volunteers, known as the Putney Mountain Hawk Watchers, have recorded the number and kinds of hawks they see and report the information to Hawk Migration of...
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At Shelburne Orchards, Nick Cowles Found His Groove
If you’ve ever been to Shelburne Orchards, chances are you’ve seen or been lucky enough to meet owner Nick Cowles. Nick has spent most of his life at the orchard, which his father purchased in the 1950s. Nick loved growing up there, and when you visit, it’s easy to see why. Host Erica Houskeeper...
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Hiking is Pure Joy for Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark
The summer she turned seven years old, Charity Clark's first outing on Vermont's Long Trail was at Little Rock Pond in Mount Tabor. Years later, she completed the 272-mile footpath across the Green Mountains, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the United States. Today, Charity is Vermont's...
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After the Flood: Exploring and Embracing Vermont
Happy Vermont podcast host Erica Houskeeper shares ways to explore Vermont this summer and fall. She also weighs in on why we can't take Vermont communities for granted. happyvermont.com
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Butterfly Watching in Vermont
Terri Armata of Bennington is one of Vermont’s most dedicated butterfly watchers. A retired hospital employee, Terri has seen about 100 species in Vermont, nearly every kind ever found in the state. Host Erica Houskeeper met with Terri at Merck Forest in Rupert to talk about good places to find...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Happy Vermont have?
Happy Vermont currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Happy Vermont about?
Places you love in Vermont. Visit www.happyvermont.com for more Vermont stories.
How often does Happy Vermont release new episodes?
Happy Vermont has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Happy Vermont?
You can listen to Happy Vermont on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Happy Vermont?
Happy Vermont is created and hosted by happyvermont.
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