First Congregational Church Celebrates 200 Years

by Mickey Smith

MORRISTOWN – Sunday, July 15, will mark the 200^th anniversary of Morristown’s First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. While celebrating the history of the congregation, its history is also interwoven within Morristown’s early history.

At the second Town Meeting of Morristown (held September 2, 1806), in accordance with Vermont Law which required each town to support a church, the decision was made to create “subscription papers” to help formulate a church for the town.

On July 15, 1807, the founding 13 members of the congregation met in Jacob Walker’s barn, in Morristown Corners, to organize the new church. A moderator, clerk, and deacon were elected and Morristown’s First Congregational Church was formed.

The first church has become a somewhat mythical structure. Predating photography, no paintings or drawings exist of the structure, which from its description had to be the largest building around.

Anna Mower, in her History of Morristown, described the building as “a brick structure with a two story pulpit reached by winding stairs and galleries on three sides…”

“Its towering spire was a landmark for a long distance around,” Mower went on to say.

Seating was said to be enough for 1,000 people, even though, Mower pointed out, the census from just two years prior set Morristown’s population at about 800.

Congregation member Blake Gould, who is on the committee putting together a history of the church, said over time the building began to sink in the soft ground and was deemed unsafe. It was soon torn down.

In 1839, a wooden church was built in the village at the current church site. When it became time to expand the church, the original structure was turned and pushed back, making what are now the dining and gathering rooms, explained member Steve Quigley.

Because the 200^th anniversary falls on a Sunday, a ceremony is being planned during church services. Audrey Stiles said the celebration will include a celebration of those who have been members of the church for 50 years. A little extra music is planned in the service, and Governor Jim Douglas will be attending. Governor Douglas is a member of the Congregational Church in Middlebury. Following the service, a potluck luncheon is planned. Gould said the entire community is welcome, as this celebration represents the church’s role in the entire community for the past 200 years!

As they celebrate their anniversary, the church is going through the process of looking for a new pastor. Unlike other religions where a hierarchy assigns the minister, the Congregationalists were formed on the principle of self-governance. A local committee of the church is currently interviewing and deciding upon a new pastor for the congregation.

The congregation size has changed over the years. Gould said the 1950s and ‘60s seems to have been the high point in enrollment for a lot of religions. Currently the church lists about 140 names on its rolls, with attendance averaging between 50-70 on any given Sunday.

More churches to choose from and increased pressures on family time are cited as reasons for declining attendance.

Despite the declines, the congregation keeps the faith and remains active. Additional plans for the bicentennial celebration include a concert in September featuring church organist Shaun Booher. In October, another concert will be held featuring Joseph M. Martin, a prolific writer of church music. He has been commissioned to write a choral anthem for the church and it will be premiered on October 7. The night before, Martin will be performing in concert at the church.

Two books are also in the works including the aforementioned history of the church, which will include interviews of long time members and a cookbook featuring recipes from the congregation.

Gould stressed all are invited to the celebration and concerts, as the congregation ventures forth into its next 200 years.

Welcome to a Greener Downtown!

by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISVILLE – If you’ve noticed the Village of Morrisville seems to have trees popping up all over, you’re right! The Morrisville Alliance for Culture and Commerce (MACC) has begun planting a downtown treescape – a project member Paul Trudell envisioned more than a decade ago. Trudell and fellow MACC member Chip Horton have taken the lead on the grant-funded tree planting project.

Horton is an Urban Community Forester and has been researching what trees are best for each targeted spot in the village. The News & Citizen caught up with the pair last week, as they were putting a Betula nigra cultivars Heritage, better known as a Heritage river birch, on the lawn of the Masonic Temple, on Portland Street.

Horton said they chose a Heritage river birch for that spot because it withstands both drought and dampness, and tolerates road salt. The river birch is a wetland species that requires a low amount of oxygen, which Horton said is important when the base of the tree is covered with deep snow. The river birch is also easy to prune, which is necessary due to the intersecting lines on the corner of Portland and Brigham Streets.

Horton praised the project, saying MACC is creating a pedestrian-friendly “market atmosphere,” a greenscape that encourages shoppers to get out and walk through the village and its shops. Once installed, Horton said the trees will become part of the town’s infrastructure, like its roads and sidewalks. He credited Trudell for his vision of this project saying, “He really has to be applauded for this.”

Two Charged in VT Precision Burglary

by Mickey Smith

MORRISTOWN – A two-way radio worn on the belt of a Peoples Academy student led Morristown Senior Patrolman Ryan Bjerke to two teens, who allegedly broke into Vermont Precision Woodworking, at the end of Professional Drive in Morrisville, in April.

According to an affidavit filed in Vermont District Court in Hyde Park, two days after investigating the April 18 burglary Officer Bjerke (who has served as the Morristown School System’s student resource officer) was in a hall at Peoples Academy and noticed a radio being worn by a student, Jayson Markert, 18. The radio matched the description of one of the two stolen from VT Precision, so Bjerke asked to see it and found the serial number for later comparison to the stolen radios.

Bjerke said in his affidavit, he then compared the numbers and found out the radio was one of the two that had been stolen. Bjerke said he went to find the student, but his teacher said Markert had left the building suddenly.

While looking for Markert, Bjerke spoke to a school employee who said Markert had told him he had heard about a robbery at VT Precision. The employee told Bjerke (in the press release) Markert said his radio was broken and was going to return it to Circuit City where he claimed to have purchased it.

Bjerke’s search for Markert included a stop at the home of Tyler Gomes, 17, a friend of Markert’s. Bjerke alleges Gomes hesitantly admitted to having a second radio, which the affidavit alleges matched the serial number of the other stolen radio.

Bjerke wound up meeting up with Markert and his mother at the school around 3 p.m. After being read his Miranda warnings, Markert sat down with Bjerke and admitted to entering VT Precision with Gomes.

He alleged they took some tools to break into two vending machines – stealing about $105 in $1 bills and change, and stole the radios. According to the affidavit, he admitted to Officer Bjerke they then threw the tools and parts from the vending machines into the Lamoille River to hide the evidence.

Bjerke said Gomes had been advised by his lawyer not to speak to the police about the case.

Markert and Gomes have pled not guilty to burglary, petit larceny, and unlawful mischief at their arraignments.

Researching Ancient Roads in Cambridge

by Amy Kolb Noyes

The story that follows is the second installment in a summer-long series on identifying ancient roads in Lamoille County. Ancient roads, as referred to in Act 178, are former class 4 roads or trails that are no longer identified as roads by a town. Ancient roads remain public places and are often used recreationally. Act 178 gives a specific timetable for towns to identify ancient roads it wishes to maintain. Those not identified will eventually be considered abandoned and rights-of-way returned to the landowner.

CAMBRIDGE – While a few towns, such as Morristown and Belvidere, received state grants to research Ancient Roads to comply with Act 178, most towns must find ways to identify ancient roads on their own. In Cambridge, local history buff Adam Howard is leading a committee of volunteers to accomplish what has turned out to be a monumental task.

“It is a copious amount of work,” said Howard, noting the research effort must go back 200 years.

Howard began the effort this past winter by compiling a group of volunteers to work on the project. Since then Howard, Duane Chase, Peter Krusch, Rick Fletcher, Dick Goff and Matt Safford have met monthly, pouring over old right-of-way descriptions and other historical documents.

“We’re doing everything we can without spending any money right now,” Howard explained. At the committee’s June meeting the group heard from Underhill surveyor Brad Holden. Howard said Holden’s advice was invaluable, and he recommended ancient road researchers in other towns try and work with local surveyors.

“They’re really the experts here. They know what’s going on,” said Howard. He added, “They’re the only people licensed to really deal with property.”

Howard noted there are only about 100 surveyors in the state and they can be located through the professional association Vermont Land Surveyors.

Howard recently got the go-ahead from the Cambridge Selectboard to spend a couple hundred dollars on aerial photograph maps of the town on which to base a master ancient road document. He explained aerial photos of the entire state were taken in 1942. The committee’s next goal is to create one cohesive town map, all to the same scale, and begin plotting roads on that map. He guessed the number of ancient roads in Cambridge probably runs in the hundreds.

Howard takes issue with Act 178, saying there is very little information or assistance available from the state to execute what, in Cambridge’s case, is an unfunded mandate. He said he suspects lobbyists working for title insurance companies pushed the law through the Vermont Legislature, with little regard to how the work would get done.

“It’s a poorly thought out law,” said Howard. He noted, when a town officially abandons a right-of-way under Act 178, the land reverts to the original landowners or their heirs, rather than the current owner of the surrounding parcel. Therefore, ancestral lines will need to be traced in order to find the new owner of an abandoned right-of-way.

There is the added pressure of a deadline placed on their task. Towns have until July 2009 to include ancient roads on the road certificate filed annually with the state, otherwise the roads become classified as “unidentified corridors” – a status good for two years before the roads are automatically abandoned.

Howard said volunteers working on identifying ancient roads are not typically people concerned with the nuances of the legislation. They are folks who care about their communities, often with a special interest in history or recreation. They are looking out for property rights as well as the will of local citizens.

“Most roads are known and used, and that use will be continued,” said Howard. Some roads will be reverted back to a landowner, but Howard said he is not convinced that ownership will ultimately stand up in court. If the ownership of a reverted right-of-way is someday challenged in court and the law is found to be unconstitutional Howard said, “Every bit of every stitch of work comes undone.”

Even in that case, however, what remains is the research and, in Cambridge’s case, the master document the ancient roads committee is working up. Howard’s end goal is to give a nice package to the historical society and the town for future generations. He said the reverted land rights issue is secondary to him.

“The bottom line,” said Howard, “is it’s history and it’s important.”

Things Look This Way to Me

Editorial by J.B. McKinley

On the Home Front

Things aren’t so bad around Lamoille County. As we pass the summer landmark that is the Fourth of July, we see new construction on houses near home, long awaited re-construction on our highways, and beautification efforts in several our towns. If you look around as you drive to the grocery store, you are likely to see a new roof being laid down at the neighbor’s, someone else has fixed some split or rotten clapboards or maybe they are getting new energy efficient windows installed. All these are signs that the economic times – despite whatever you may be hearing – are not so bad.

The sleeping dog behind all the pretty darn good news is the fact that we, as a country, are at war. It’s hard to imagine carrying on a war that would have less impact than this one on us. Of course, that’s not true of soldiers’ families; they are certainly feeling the impact of our Global War on Terror. But has their situation been felt by you? How is the situation in Iraq affecting you?

Remembering the Vietnam “conflict,” I remember that the economic times weren’t too bad then, either. Still, the war eventually made itself felt at home. Though we never had our towns napalmed, nor were we sent to re-education camps, our government’s decisions about Vietnam ultimately had citizens in the street. Vietnam left its mark on us. This editorial is proof that it left its mark on me. It’s decidely frustrating to feel powerless to affect our government yet again. Has our government lost its connection to its citizens?

It’s not the purpose of this editorial to be depressing, but immediately after the July 4 holiday, when we have celebrated our nation’s achievements under our unique form of goverment, it might be good to consider how we’d like our children to remember the happenings of our times. Will we remember our intervention in Iraq with pride? Will historians deem this war as having been necessary to preserve our country’s liberty? Are our personal liberties here at home being eroded under cover of the fear of global terrorism?

I don’t have answers to these questions, but I am thinking about them as I put new shingles on my house, take home my paycheck, and prepare for another year’s bill at the IRS. Why shouldn’t I think of these things, I’m paying for them.