WR II and Home Again

This image is for Susan, Charlie, Phil, Mariella, and James--who will understand the reference.

"Of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings . . ." and so it went at WR II. At times the conversations were loud! So loud that I found out later that the phone in my pocket rang at 6:28 and I didn't hear it.


For me -- former nascent connections were strengthened and, I hope, one new one in the making.

It was, once again, colder than hell at 5 a.m. At WR III we will be talking on the benches at the RR station after dinner, or at least I won't be freezing to death the next morning.

I was not in fact at the Polka Dot at 5 a.m. It didn't open and I learned that its hours were in fact quite irregular. This together with the information I picked up at WR I -- that the owner is quite ill and what I noticed -- that everyone working there is close to 70 -- and that the building itself is for sale, makes me fear that the end is near for this small, unassuming landmark. So, I ate my breakfast in New Hampshire. Grrrr.

Long Time, No Post

And there is a good reason for this hiatus. I've been posting to another blog which is centered on the Vermont Arts Council's Art of Action project. It's Vermont Directions.

And there is likely going to be a longer hiatus. I'm preparing my presentation for the VAC at the end of this month. And, to make matters worse, I'm chomping at the bit to create an album of shots I took in White River Junction. A very, very, photogenic town. But, that too will have to wait.

Exciting Times

Finally, I actually get to do some art work. It's been a long time, dealing with budget matters, which I am wholly rotten at, and the proposal, which I hope I'm good at--lol.

And, I need to get out more--wandering around the Tip Top Building in WRJ I saw advertisements and the closed door of
Northlight Digital. I looked them up when I got home, because not only did I like what I had seen down there, but Charlie says he uses them.

This morning I sent off two files to them and will talk to them later today. I've been looking for a printer in Vermont, but so far have had no luck or bad. I've really got my fingers crossed.

They not only work with photographers but advertise themselves as preparers of digital images of artwork for artists.

After WRJ

I didn't find Barrows Point. And, in daylight, at the freightyards, I found a heap of bricks and burned timbers: the roundhouse and yard buildings burned a month ago. All that remains is a street sign: Roundhouse Rd. Another Vermont sign with the name of something which once existed but is no more. I feel a sense of urgency.

I am thoroughly enamored of WRJ. It has railroads and art. What more could one ask for? I drove home without the radio, thinking about art communities and how we don't have one in St. Albans, in spite of strenuous efforts on the part of the leaders of the St. Albans Artists' Guild. Art just isn't on the map here--yet! We at least have a wonderful gallery--STAART Gallery (thanks to the extremely professional care and organization of Stina Plant), which is also a place for meetings, but we need more, much more.

In WRJ

As I was eating my breakfast at 5:15 a.m. in the Polka Dot, I noticed the placemat had an old (1907) photo of WRJ taken from Barrows Point. So, after the customer next to me told me where he thought it was, I went looking for it. I think I found it, but since it was still dark, I decided not to get out of the car and wander around in someone's back yard as I don't think Trespasser arrested in WRJ--connection to Vermont Arts Council still under investigation. is the kind of headline the VAC, Alex, and Lyman Orton are looking for. Will go back at sunrise.


I also finally found the road down to the freight tracks. Can't wait to get back there. I've never been down into WRJ before and it is quite a place. It seems to have, from the cards in the hotel and the posters all over town, a vibrant arts community. Much like I felt in Montpelier. WE NEED THIS IN ST. ALBANS!!!!

And, BTW--the Polka Dot--for 55 years a diner, is up for sale. Every time you turn around pieces of Vermont are dropping off.

Homage to WRJ for AOA Toilers

What this Vermonter thinks of when she thinks of White River Junction.

I look at this picture, and know that soon, when I see it in real life, I will be free, unfettered, and perhaps with just a little hair left!

And, I must say, this Saturday will be the first time in my life that WRJ is a DESTINATION and not a stop on the way to somewhere else!