“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.“- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Welcome to Week Three of the Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge. This is the week to visit someplace new, which may seem a bit daunting, given present travel restrictions. However, once you begin pondering about what might be new for you, I guarantee there will be plenty to uncover. This summer it’s all about the “staycation.” I’ve heard the word used repeatedly from our governor and among several friends and every week the Seven Days publication promotes several staycation ideas around the state.
So where exactly did the word “staycation” originate and is it an acceptable Scrabble play? I did some digging and found that according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary’s sleuths, the first time “staycation” popped up in print dates to a full-page promotional ad for Felsenbrau Supreme Beer in the Cincinnati Enquirer on July 18, 1944. Entitled the Red-White-And-Blue Reminders, it highlighted a list of staycation suggestions that included planting Victory gardens and writing to soldiers on the front (by the way, in case you are wondering, that beer company is no longer in business).
Next I sought out more information about Vermont’s 251 Club, which I believe is the only such club in the USA. Why not enjoy a full-on Vermont staycation and at the same time investigate the entire state? Dr. Arthur Peach, a Vermont poet, professor, writer and historian, proposed the creation of an informal 251 Club in 1954. Peach, who wrote a regular column called “At the Sign of the Quill” for Vermont Life Magazine, received countless inquiries from readers who asked, “How they could come to know the real Vermont?”
Peach invited “the native born and those born elsewhere but with Vermont in them” to veer from the beaten path “to discover the secret and lovely places that main roads do not reveal,” believing that every corner of Vermont had attractions, beauty, history, traditions and people of interest. And back in Vermont Life Magazine’s heyday, the idea snowballed resulting in the printing of new Vermont maps for those interested in taking on the challenge. Today, according to the 251 Club’s director, Stephanie Young, there are more than 6000 household 251 Club members and the numbers are increasing.
Because reporting is based on the honor system there is no one right or wrong way to visit all of the towns and gores as long as one doesn’t just drive through them. Some 251 adventurers add their own unique flavor to the challenge. They might cycle from town to town, run through each town, engage in conversation with residents from each town, visit the local library or dine on something tasty from a local food establishment. One’s timeline to complete the challenge is open ended; it can be a summer project or take several years. And now, there’s a documentary specific to the 251 Club that Michael Leonard, who completed the challenge with two friends and a handheld camera in tow in 2006 between college semesters, has produced called One Town at a Time.
So, where has our VEHI PATH team been this summer to explore new places? Amy Gilbert says she has been on some pretty cool class IV roads wheeling with her son, Dustin, and her daughter-in-law, Jen. “We went into a bunch of different towns, but I have no idea where we were. We went on top of this mountain that had the most amazing views and watched a thunderstorm roll in. Felt like lightening was striking all around us. It was amazing to watch (and a bit scary),” she added. Gillian Pieper hiked up Belvidere Mountain and recommends it because it’s a great wide trail with a solid fire tower and excellent views.
Ashley Johnson and her family packed up their daughter, Florilla, and their bicycle trailer and ventured out to the Franconia, New Hampshire bicycle path. “I found it to be a beautiful paved bike path crisscrossing along a nice cool stream and Florilla loved playing in the river and enjoyed all the ups and downs of the path (even if my legs didn’t),” said Johnson.
And I tried a new way of hiking up Mount Hunger from Middlesex that required some unexpected Class IV roads and tremendous nail biting as I maneuvered through the rocks to the top. As Dr. Peach once said, “A swift turn from one of our main roads, and you are on your way to the rewarding experience of a lifetime and memories good until the years are frosty.”
We are intrigued by all that you might share with us. Please do your best to practice social distancing as you visit someplace new. I know every one of you is doing your part to keep yourself and your fellow Vermonters healthy while enjoying warmer weather.
See you on the PATH Ahead,
Shevonne, Gillian, Ashley and Amy