1/25/09

Bethel

"Diversity" has been Vermont's watchword, and it has saved the state from the worst of the depressions which more intensified industry has known. We have made almost everything in Vermont, from counterfeit money to clothes-pins and coffins...Charles Edward Crane


I've been driving past Bethel for years, turning left at this corner on my way from Interstate 89 to Rutland and points south. I always look up and appreciate this grain elevator planted so comfortably in the backyard of the town's main residential street--the scene reminds me of the WPA-style motifs of my father's paintings from his days as an artist and labor organizer during the Depression. Happily, rather than being an empty 1930's relic, this structure now houses the organic livestock grain supplier Green Mountain Feeds.


Last time I drove into Bethel, rather than take my usual turn south on Route 107 I headed up narrow Main Street to see what the town had to offer a visitor, especially in the way of food. The "Cockadoodle Pizza Cafe" beckoned me inside and didn't disappoint, offering a very respectable Greek slice (feta and spinach) served in an idiosyncratically pleasant interior, complete with wifi access and an interesting painting display on cheerful yellow walls (so much better than the depressing yellow arches I would have found in Rutland!)


Refreshed, I continued up Main Street in search of Bethel Mills Lumber, a very successful local enterprise with an interesting history. Founded during the Revolutionary War, Bethel Mills ground corn and sawed timber morning and night to meet the demands of new settlers. The business was operated by the same family for the next 100 years, then wiped out by the great flood of 1927, and rebuilt from the ground up as soon as the waters receded.

When the Great Depression hit, Bethel Mills struggled to keep its doors open. And then a twist of fate: a man with family in tow shows up looking for a job and is hired as a salesman; a week later the boss dies of a heart attack, and the new guy convinces the boss's widow to give him a chance managing the company rather than shut it down. She did, and together they rebuilt the business. And here's a typical Vermont happy ending to this entrepreneurial fairy tale: the new owner, unable to reach an agreement with the local power company over rates, decides to build his own hydroelectric plant on the river next to the mill. Though ridiculed by both his fellow townspeople and the utility, he perseveres and a few years later figures out how to produce enough electricity to both run the mill and sell back the extra juice to the power company--a satisfying arrangement that continues to this day.

Bethel facts and figures

11 comments:

  1. Ramunto's in Rutland serves one of the best NY slices in VT. You might also check out the Killington Avenue Deli, Ernie's, the Sandwich Shoppe, or the Back Home Again Cafe. There's a lot more to Rutland than the Rte. 7 strip.

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  2. Susan,
    I love your color rendering of the grain elevator in Bethel. Quality of the light, perspective, and the scale relative to the buildings around it.
    Makes me want to head west to photograph in the Great Plains. Such a different scale out there with the elevators on the horizon versus your depiction, set in a steeper terrain.
    Pizza interior fun. I envy your ability to draw so prolifically and perceptively!

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  3. I'm looking forward to exploring Rutland, David, and will check out your restaurant suggestions. Please let me know any other places you'd recommend I take a look at--Route 7 is all I know at this point.

    Thanks, John! A drive with sketchbook through the West is on my list of trips after I've rounded Vermont.

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  4. One of my travel rules is "never eat in a chain restaurant of any kind." It's a rule that produces a plethora of rewards. Around home it's the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax, and Angelina's in Cambridge. (I figure at this point you are keeping notes for future travel!)

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  5. Noted, Clair. I'm looking forward to getting up to your corner--how about joining me at your favorite cafe for a meal and talk about your home turf?

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  6. You bet -- your call. I'm there. (Bakery not open on Sunday or Monday.)

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  7. Clair my name is Jim Fisher and I am the owner of the Cockadoodle Pizza Cafe in Bethel. I love your sketch of inside the cafe, and would love to get a copy of it if possible. You can reach me at the shop 802-234-9666, or through my email olyfisher@comcast.net. Thanks for supporting local business.

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  8. Hi Susan,
    My name is Eric Dutil. I am one of the Owners of Green Mountain Feeds. I am absolutly amazed by that picture of our feed mill. I only wish I could make it look that spectacular all the time.... I would love to use that picture on our website. If that would be ok with you, could you email me at edutil@greenmountainfeeds.com and let me know??

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  9. I'd be happy to share the artwork images with both of you.

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  10. Hi, You have good blog with photos and good details. Keep Posting

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  11. Thanks for the encouragement, Monica!

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