Around Town
Compiled by Edd Merritt
1/14/10

Congratulations

to Margaret and Joseph Bedard on the birth of their son Orion James November 19 at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington.
to Jakob von Trapp, formerly of Charlotte, and Betsy Miller of Savannah, Georgia, who were married November 7 in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Jake is the son of Jane von Trapp of Redding, Connecticut, and Chris von Trapp of Waltham, Vermont. He is a project manager for Columbia Residential of Atlanta, and his wife is a third-year veterinary student at the University of Georgia. They live in Athens, Georgia.
to the following attorneys who live in Charlotte who were recently included in the list of “New England Super Lawyers” for 2009: James Murdoch of Murdoch Hughes & Twarog Attorneys at Law, Carl Lisman and William Leckerling of Lisman, Webster & Leckerling. Their selection was based upon their peers’ evaluation of their professional achievement.
to Lois McClure and Andrea Rogers who were nominated for 2009 “Vermonter of the Year” by readers of the Burlington Free Press. Lois was cited for her many contributions to Vermont over a number of years – both financial and personal. Andrea is retiring as the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts Executive Director after 30 years of service in that capacity.
to the late Hugh “Cowboy” Lewis who was featured in the December 28 Burlington Free Press section entitled “Lives Well Lived 2009.” Entitled “Cowboy Lewis bigger than life,” the article chronicles his escapades as boxer, wrestler, rodeo rider and Charlotte constable. His wife, Arline, is quoted saying that Cowboy “put on a show every day on this road.”
to Marion Guild, 92 years old and a designer and artist who was featured in the December 23 issue of the Shelburne News. Marion illustrated the first edition of the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. At the time she was working in Springfield, Massachusetts for General Offset Printing, drawing artwork for children. In 1946 she designed the first real storybook about Rudolph using a new full-color offset printing process.
to Thomas Naylor, leader of the movement toward forming a Second Vermont Republic, who is featured in the January/February 2010 issue of Vermont Magazine under the heading of “Vermont People.” Naylor, a retired economics professor, raises the question of seceding from the United States, which he feels has grown too large, too ungovernable, too racist and too violent for its own good.
to Kathryn Blume whose article on page 13 chronicles her stay in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she performed at the Klimaforum, the global civil-society counterpart to the United Nations negotiations on climate change. At the end of her piece Kathryn charges all of us not ot step aside, not to pretend it’s someone else’s job.... “together we can heal the world.”
to Gretchen Morse who was profiled in the December 2009 Champlain Business Journal for her work with United Way of Chittenden County. She has been its executive director since 1991. She says in the article that she sees “thoughtful collaboration among the private, public and nonprofit sectors as key to both strong communities and a strong economy.”
to Charlotte horse trainers Bonnie and Keely Sogoloff who were featured in the December 2009 Vermont Maturity in a story profiling their 26-stall Cedar Spring Farm where they raise and train Morgan horses. The Sogoloffs said they were welcomed heartily when they moved their farm to Charlotte in 2005. Bailamos, a champion stallion that Keely trained, won the Open Hunter Pleasure World championship at the Morgan Grand National show in Oklahoma in November.
to Susan Ohanian who has collected a series of tributes to the late Gerald Bracey, a respected education writer and critic, on her website, susanohanian.org. In an effort to bring the public’s attention to questions about the current education secretary’s ties to Save-a-Life Foundation, a controversial Chicago nonprofit group, Susan has joined two colleagues in sharing Bracey’s final column for the Huffington Post, entitled “The Skeleton in Arne Duncan’s Closet.”
to Rik Palieri who is one of 30 artists featured on the Grammy nominated CD, Singing Through the Hard Times, a Tribute to Utah Phillips. Palieri, a resident of Hinesburg, has played in Charlotte on several occasions. He joins such musical legends on the CD as Pete Seeger, Emmylou Harris, Tom Paxton, Jean Richie and Annie DiFranco.

Sympathy

is extended to family and friends of Joan Young of Charlotte who died as a result of an automobile accident on January 7 at the age of 75. Upon graduating from UVM, she wrote scripts for locally produced TV programs on WCAX. After moving to Illinois in 1974, she returned to Vermont in 2007 and settled in a Charlotte house that she helped design for her aunt, Margaret Denio. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations in her memory be made to The Harper College Educational Foundation/Joan R. Young Scholarship Fund, 1200 West Algonquin Road, Pallatine, Illinois 60067-7398.
is extended to family and friends of Elizabeth A. “Bette” Morris of Grand Isle, Vermont, who passed away December 15 at the age of 70. Her surviving family includes her daughter Laura and Laura’s husband, Neal Blood, of Charlotte. The family asks that those wishing to contribute in her memory do so to the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, 110 Prim Road, Colchester, Vermont 05446-9903.
is extended to family and friends of Robert L. Wool of Burlington and Palm Beach, Florida, who passed away December 14 at the age of 86.His surviving family includes his son Michael and Michael’s wife, Martha, of Charlotte. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made either to the Wool/Cohen Endowment Fund, c/o Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, 188 North Prospect Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401 or to Hospice by the Sea, 1532 West Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33486.
is extended to family and friends of Pauline H. Rocheleau of Winooski who passed away unexpectedly on December 18 at the age of 79. Her surviving family includes her daughter Aline (Pat) Leclaire of Charlotte. The family asks that those wishing to make contributions in her name do so to St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, St. Peter Street, Winooski, Vermont 05404.
is extended to family and friends of James M. Halnon of Salisbury, Vermont, who passed away December 20 at the age of 90. His surviving family includes his daughter Maureen Wheeler of Charlotte. The family asks that those wishing to make memorial donations do so to St. Mary’s School, c/o St. Mary’s Church, 326 College Street, Middlebury, Vermont 05753.
is extended to family and friends of Elizabeth Cornman Bland of Cambridge, Vermont, who passed away January 3 at the age of 89. Elizabeth (known by friends as Libits) co-founded the Charlotte Pony Club and helped its membership grow from 1964 until 1970.She continued her interested in ponies after she and her family moved to Cambridge, forming a club there as well. Both organizations continue in operation today.
is extended to family and friends of Leon Patrick Dowd of Richmond, Vermont, who passed away January 4 at the age of 83. His surviving family includes his sister-in-law Shirley Bean of Charlotte The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to Richmond Rescue, Richmond Fire Department or the charity of one’s choice.
is extended to family and friends of James C. Kenny of Shelburne who passed away January 7 at the Arbors at the age of 83. A well-respected business and community member, he and his wife, Lois, lived in Charlotte from 1985 until 2005. The family asks that donations in his memory be sent to The Charlotte Library, c/o Sherrie Simmons, P.O. Box 120, Charlotte, Vermont 05445.

1/14/10