The Cartoon Issue 2024
Burial Mix-Up at Burlington’s Lakeview Cemetery Sets Two Grieving Families at Odds; Spectral Force: The ‘Ghost Army’ of World War II; From Brioche to Biscotti, King Arthur Hotline Backs Bakers
Obituary: Wallace Clapper, 1960-2024
Pressman at the Burlington Free Press for 38 years loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren
Obituary: Mark Borthwick, 1946-2024
Cofounder of a Singapore-based nonprofit traveled around the world but chose Vermont in retirement
Obituary: Peter Jack Tkatch, 1942-2024
Cofounder of Equity Fights AIDS, UVM professor and theater professional acted and stage-managed for more than 40 years and stood out in every crowd
Obituary: Eileen Mae Harwood, 1947-2024
Longtime professor embarked on a second career as an accomplished multimedia artist
Obituary: Bruce E. Leachman, 1956-2024
In owning Luigi’s Pizzeria in Vergennes for 33 years, former Vermont resident realized his dream
Obituary: Roberta D. “Chick” Wood, 1944-2024
Charlotte woman loved people and their stories and always made everyone feel welcome
Obituary: Dr. George Kenneth Stoltenberg, 1951-2024
Area psychologist was a valued friend, colleague and mentor to many
UVM Staff Union Asks University to Reinstate Mental Health Positions
A labor union is asking the University of Vermont to reinstate six staff members whose jobs were abruptly terminated on June 17, saying the school is putting students at risk by reducing wellness services while mental health on campus is a major concern. The six union members and two others who lost their jobs in…
Obituary: Sylvia Heininger Holden, 1929-2024
Burlington woman was a community pillar wherever she lived, including in Ottawa, Canada, where a city park is named in her honor
Obituary: Ben “Benji” Linden, 1944-2024
Burlington man’s life was marked by integrity, honesty and a profound sense of character
Obituary: Richard Quinlan, 1947-2024
Boston sports fan, creative soul and lover of music never stopped learning and growing with the world around him
Obituary: Leo A. “Bud” Rouille, 1936-2024
Former manager of his family’s grocery business in Burlington’s Old North End is remembered for his kind and generous heart
Obituary: Nathalie E. Lovett, 1927-2024
Shelburne woman was reunited with her beloved husband, one day shy of her 97th birthday
Obituary: Patricia Quinn di Stefano, 1949-2024
Cabot woman loved nothing more than simply spending time with her family
In Memoriam: William A. Hahn, 1929-2004
Loving family man, lifelong Vermonter, professor, Realtor, intellectual, natural food store owner, man of faith, friend to all. Twenty years later, we miss you still. Our memories of you are as bright and clear as if you were here yesterday. Forever in our hearts… Your loving children
Obituary: Stephen W. Gould, 1937-2024
Former Vermont assistant attorney general lived a life of active service to his community
Swamped and Shocked: Plainfield Reels After Latest Flood
Owen Bradley and his wife, Jane, were listening to the boulders crashing down the swollen creek next to their house in Plainfield village on Wednesday night when they heard something louder and more sinister. It was a neighboring bridge coming loose from its abutments and cleaving an apartment building into pieces as it rushed past.…
Sex Ed Book Club Busts Myths and Sparks Lively Conversation
Sarah Diedrick began the June meeting of the book club she facilitates by helping the hosts set up camp chairs in their grassy backyard, light mosquito repellent sticks and arrange snacks on a patio table. Members hugged as they arrived and sat down with plates of flat pretzels, crusty bread, hummus, cheese and strawberries. Then…
What’s So Funny? Coloring Outside the Lines in the Cartoon Issue
There is perhaps no section of Seven Days that draws stronger (or louder) opinions than “Fun Stuff,” aka the comics pages. Every couple of years or so, we refresh the spread to add cartoons we like, remove some we feel might be growing stale or just mix things up a bit. And whenever we do,…
Phish, ‘Evolve’
(JEMP Records, vinyl, CD, digital) It’s coming up on 40 years since Phish hatched from Burlington’s ’80s college rock scene. The band’s ascent is still one of the great WTF?! moments in history: A crew of four scruffy dorks fused their love of Grateful Dead-level jams with an affinity for progressive rock such as early…
Letters to the Editor (7/10/24)
Across Check I was pretty surprised to see that an entire row of “across” answers (and, as a result, more than a few “down” answers) were cut off from the answer key for the “TV Replacement” crossword in the July 3 edition. Not that I absolutely needed the answers, but I still wanted to check!…
A Farting Bear Caught on Camera Is What We All Needed to See
Does a bear fart in the woods? You betcha. And in this case, there’s video evidence. Bob Etzweiler, a senior program director at the Vermont Wilderness School in Brattleboro, captured a gassy bruin on a trail camera he’d set up in the woods near Marlboro. Though the footage is from April, Etzweiler didn’t discover it…
Free Will Astrology (7/10/24)
CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): Even though you and I were both born under the sign of Cancer the Crab, I have a taboo against advising you to be like me. I love my life, but I’m not so naïve or arrogant as to think that what has worked for me will also work for you.…
Comic Artist David Libens’ Little Drawings Reveal Big Feelings
The Main Street Museum in downtown White River Junction is packed to the rafters with an unwieldy collection of objects and ephemera, ranging from sheet music to taxidermy to local artifacts. The institution’s unifying principle is that it’s a gathering place for the curious. Since its inception in 1992, the campy, volunteer-run venue has billed…
A ‘Seven Days’ Intern Helps Researchers Track Canada Geese
I arrived at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison early on July 3 and quickly realized I was underdressed for the wild goose chase my editor had sent me on. I’d gone for the city-slicker-does-Vermont summer getup: shorts, T-shirt, Adidas sneakers, Lake Monsters ball cap. Other volunteers wore more appropriate goose-hunting-in-a-muddy-swamp outfits: long…
Kristen Dettoni Brings Ciphers and Spies to Studio Place Arts
Pop culture’s abundant conspiracy boards rarely focus on the yarn holding the evidence together. But the conspiracy that fills artist Kristen Dettoni’s head absolutely starts with the fiber, then unfurls into a labyrinth of codes and connections to rival any spy thriller. A selection of Dettoni’s punch needle canvases and related works are on view…
Burial Mix-Up at Burlington’s Lakeview Cemetery Sets Two Grieving Families at Odds
This is the unhappy story of burial plot 1181. The tree-shaded gravesite at Lakeview Cemetery sits next to plot 1180, where a 27-year-old man — let’s call him Daniel — is buried. Daniel’s family purchased both plots when he died in 2019 so that one day, someone he loved could lie beside him. But two…
An Illustrated Guide to the Oldest People, Things and Places in Vermont
The original print version of this article was headlined “The Oldest in Vermont” Related Stories
Some Republican and Business Donors Support Moderate Dems as ‘Least Worst’ Option
When retired NBC5 journalist Stewart Ledbetter was about three weeks into his fledgling campaign for the state Senate, he’d raised a respectable — but not unheard of — $10,000 from people outside his family. Then in early June, the Winooski Democrat saw his campaign coffers swell with donations from a surprising source: Republicans. “All of…
Vermont Cartoonists Head to Ireland to Explore Ties Between Comics and Medicine
Next week, the Center for Cartoon Studies will embark as a group on its first international foray for the 2024 Graphic Medicine Conference, held July 16 to 18 at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Ireland. The Vermont cartoonists will join others from around the world to explore how their work can inform…
Ti West’s Horror Trilogy Concludes With the Fun but Overstuffed ‘MaXXXine’
Horror director Ti West is a pastiche artist, in a good way. His 2009 breakout film, The House of the Devil, was a dead ringer for an early ’80s scare flick, with then-obscure Greta Gerwig among the unlucky victims. In 2022, West earned rave reviews for X, a slasher set in 1979 that suggests The…
New Illustrations Tell the History of Burlington’s Intervale
Visitors at the Intervale Center in Burlington have a unique opportunity to absorb 10,000 years of archaeological history through six new illustrated informational signs. Installed in late June, they offer passersby the chance to connect with the land. The project is a collaboration of conservation nonprofit Burlington Wildways, state archaeologist Jess Robinson and cartoonist Glynnis…
Now Playing in Theaters: July 10-16
new in theaters FLY ME TO THE MOON: In this retro rom-com, Scarlett Johansson plays a marketer assigned to make the Apollo 11 mission look good, to the consternation of moon launch director Channing Tatum. Greg Berlanti directed. (132 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Roxy, Star, Sunset, Welden) LONGLEGS: An FBI agent (Maika Monroe)…
A New Artistic Director Takes the Helm of the Manchester Music Festival
The Manchester Music Festival, one of Vermont’s many summer festivals showcasing chamber music, was founded in 1974. Two years later, violinist Philip Setzer cofounded the Emerson String Quartet, which became one of the most revered quartets in the chamber music world and lasted 47 years. The Emerson, based in New York City, had multiple ties…
How Do I Get to Know My Neighbors Without Seeming Creepy?
Dear Reverend, I moved into my current house eight years ago. I love my neighborhood, but I don’t know a single one of my neighbors. We wave at each other in passing, or if I’m out in the yard and people walk by, we say hello, but that’s about it. I don’t need to be…
From the Publisher: Aging Out?
I feel for Joe Biden. That is to say: Though I’m 17 years younger than he is, and exponentially less important, I can relate to the man and his dilemma. Has he aged out of the presidency, a job that requires boundless energy and nerves of steel? Is it time to step down? Unfortunately for…
From Brioche to Biscotti, King Arthur Hotline Backs Bakers
The original print version of this article was headlined “Hour of Knead” Related Stories
Small Pleasures: Burlington’s Odd Otter Ice Cream Mixes High-Quality Dairy With Inventive Flavors
I love eating ice cream at the wrong time. On a recent Saturday morning at the Burlington Farmers Market, Odd Otter Ice Cream’s Razzle Dazzle ($5), a flavor with raspberry swirl and fudgy brownie pieces, dripped down my face in high winds and a torrential downpour. It was delightful. The weather did not improve, but…
Gold Restaurant to Open in Burlington’s Old North End
The former Little Morocco Café space at 294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington will soon be home to a shiny new restaurant. Charles Spock will open Gold Restaurant the week of July 15, serving a small, constantly changing menu of “modern-style Italian food,” the chef said. The menu will be on the “light and clean”…
Localvore Cofounder Reevaluates Restaurant Deal Tech Platform
Twelve years after the launch of a local version of Groupon that offered dining deals at Vermont restaurants, Michael Nedell, the lone remaining cofounder, said he is reinvigorating the Localvore app and exploring new uses for it. Localvore was founded in 2012 as Localvore Today by Nedell, Dan White and Meg Randall, who raised $3.4…
On the Beat: Mad Pride March and the Peace.Fest
Vermont’s busy summer music festival season is in full swing, with two unique events coming up this weekend. First up is the Mad Pride March, taking place on Saturday, July 13, in downtown Burlington. Initially conceived and started in Toronto, Ontario, in 1993, Mad Pride is a celebration organized by psychiatric survivors and those suffering…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 10-16
Mr. Jones and You Tuesday 16 1990s indie rockers Counting Crows will be coming “‘Round Here” when they perform with singer-songwriter James Maddock at the Midway Lawn at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. After its breakout more than 30 years ago with hits such as “Mr. Jones,” the band released its most recent album…
Manhattan Pizza & Pub Staff Walk Out Amid Conflict With Owner
Most of the employees of Manhattan Pizza & Pub appear to have quit after owner David Quintana suddenly fired two bartenders — by text — on Monday. The firings followed an all-team meeting called by the Burlington bar owner to discuss the future of the business, which Quintana purchased in October from previous owner Matt…
