GET WELL WISHES TO 101 YEAR OLD PHILLIP ROOD WHEELER, BORN IN BUCK HOLLOW, VERMONT.
FRIENDS CAN SEND CARDS AND LETTERS TO PHIL WHEELER, 209 PINE STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22305.

Vermonters who attended his 100th Birthday Party know that he was in excellent health then, and stood and spoke at his party.

Phil's third wife, Minh, hopes he'll be home from the hospital soon after having had a fall.

Phil out-lived his first two wives ( he was married to my great Aunt Annie for 65 years).

Phil was born in Buck Hollow, Vermont.
I have a four page description of life in Buck Hollow by his Uncle Fred Wheeler, which Fred wrote for his own 100th birthday in 1969. Here is a short excerpt:

"Most of the folks living in the Hollow were farmers. They kept summer dairies and made butter. Their cows dropped their calves in the spring, gave milk during the summer, and went dry in the late fall. Dairies varied in size from 8 or 10, possibly 40 cows. My father normally milked about 15. The farmer's chief income came from the butter he sold.

Another source of income was maple sugar or syrup. Every farm had its sugar bush. Father tapped from six to eight hundred trees, and in good season sugar would make upwards of 3000 pounds of sugar or its equivalent in syrup. The sugar season came in March and April. Maple sugar was used daily for cooking and sweetening, but when company came, Mother would put the white sugar bowl on the table.

While butter and sugar were his chief sources of income, the farmer's pocket book did have other what might be called fringe benefits. He might sell an old cow, some fat hogs, calf skins, some potatoes, and so on. All helped out.

During the winter months, with neither butter nor sugar money coming in, it was sometimes hard sledding. We found it so. But with a shed full of fire wood, bins of potatoes and apples, a barrel of salt pork, a barrel of corned beef, and two barrels of soft soap in the cellar, we always made it. We would do the barn chores, draw out the manure, get up the wood pile, and wait for spring."

SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 29, 2007
BEST FALL FOLIAGE DRIVE IN VERMONT

If you have squirming kids you
may not want to drive up and down the
highest mountains in Vermont to
see your annual delights of red and orange and yellow leaves
waving in the breeze.

If you are a senior citizen you might
be cautious of health concerns
at higher elevations.

Your best fall foliage drive
is from the Burlington area
down Rte. 100
where you will pass by mountains
in all of their glory
but you will seemingly dance
along the highway
as you steer your car along the curves
this way and that
but not ever so much up and down,
just like a dancer
you and your car will find your way
in the valleys of the mountains
rather than at their peaks
as you follow Rte 100 south.

You will pass Sugarbush Ski Resort,
and keep going south
and pass
Killington Ski Resort
and keep going south on Rte 100
and pass Okemo Mountain Ski Resort
and just a little more south
and find Rte 103 south
which will take you into
Chester, Vermont
at the intersection of Rte 103
and Rte 11.

Little boys and their grandfathers
will be thrilled this saturday,
Sept. 29, 2007 watching the
LIVE FIRING
of two CIVIL WAR CANONS
in Chester, Vermont
as part of the
Vermont Civil War Expo.

Little girls and their grandmothers
can dance to live period music
on the Green in Chester, VT. 05143

Chester is a little village, population
3000
and has almost no crime
so it is a perfect location for
family events
and safe for small children
and senior citizens.

Chester is a world away from places
like Burlington, Vermont
with its rows of alcoholic beverage
drinking establishments
geared to the thrill seeking
college students.

Chester is located in Windsor County,
Birthplace of Vermont.

For more information on the
Vermont Civil War Expo
this saturday, Sept. 29, 2007
you might contact
Russ Slora
eighteenthvtregt@aol.com

The activities will go from 10 a.m.
to early evening.

Chester, VT has about 17 Bed & Breakfasts.

Rte 100 is a leisurely drive
and is NOT FAST LIKE HWY 89.

You might want to think about
why we have Civil War Re-Enactments
in Vermont
and not
Vietman War Re-Enactments
or
Iraq War Re-Enactments.

Two replicas of Sandbagger boats from the late 1800's are in Burlington! These amazing boats were designed to get goods to New York markets fastest to get the highest prices. As a result they have too much sail and heel over easily, requiring the cargo, or sandbags to be moved to the windward side to prevent capsizing.

The info from the Community Sailing Center website:

Bull & Bear are coming!

July 24th - August 2nd

Sandbaggers Bull & Bear go on summer tour! Encouraging youth sailing and promoting the boats magnificent history!

Free event open to the public Saturday July 28th 12-5 Burlington's Waterfront.

If you would like further information or to schedule a sail, contact Kate Neubauer, 802-864-2499

We have all had experiences with Vermont Businesses where we feel we received bad service or were ripped-off.

Now, instead of keeping it to yourself....tell everyone what happened to you.

http://www.vermontbbb.com

In Vermont, new political parties are started in odd numbered years.

In 2006, on the statewide election ballot, there were candidates from Liberty Union, Vermont Green, and Progressive parties for statewide offices,
as well as the Republicans and Democrats.

All other candidates on the statewide ballot in 2006 were Independents, or Independents going under other designations as allowed under Vermont laws. The VT election laws allow an independent candidate to chose up to three descriptive words after their name on the ballot rather than "independent" if they want. In 2006 we saw "Anti-Bushist" and "We the People" and "Impeach Bush Now" appearing as independent candidates who preferred those descriptive words rather than "Independent".

One group hopeful of actually attaining new minor party status is the Marijuana Party of Vermont. In order to actually gain legal status in VT, they must find 5 people in each of 15 towns in VT to form committees and nominate candidates and file forms with the Secretary of State.

You can read VT election laws online, just go to http://www.leg.state.vt.us and on the left click on Vermont Statutes Online and find Title 17 Election laws.

If you are interested in the Marijuana Party of Vermont, you can make friends with them online at http://myspace.com/vtmjp