Four Years Later

I did not know that Bruce Springsteen played at Memorial Auditorium in 1974 [True 802: “Glory Days,” November 19]. He also played at the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gym in fall 1978. Students, including myself, slept out in front of Patrick to ensure they got tickets. That show did sell out! It was great!

Springsteen for $7

I did not see Bruce Springsteen play at Memorial Auditorium back in 1974 for $4.50 [True 802: “Glory Days,” November 19]. I did, however, see him and the E Street Band back in November 1978 at the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gymnasium — I believe for $7? The concert T-shirt no longer fits, but the memory of that show still lingers.

Major concerts at that time were generally under $10. When I was a teenager, I had to work four to five hours at a minimum-wage job in order to afford to see a rock-and-roll show at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia.

I plunked down $175 to see the Boss and the E Street Band in Albany, N.Y., in April 2024. Rock-and-roll shows are now a bit more out of reach for a younger generation working for minimum wage.

Personals Success Story

Wonderful, as always [From the Publisher: “The Personals Touch,” November 19]! We also found each other over 10 years ago through your personal ads! Have been married now for six years, second time around for us both.

‘Job Well Done’

Congratulations to the Redistricting Task Force for a job well done [“Redistricting Task Force Recommends Phased Approach to Ed Reform,” November 20, online]. Shame on the governor and the secretary of education for their lack of support, at least to date.

‘I Love What I Do’

I appreciate [“Growing Gains: Vermont’s Bold Investment in Childcare Is Largely Paying Off,” November 19]. I have been in early childhood education for 26 years. I currently run my registered 4-STAR family home childcare in Monkton that I have been operating for 15 years. As my children’s sole teacher from birth through age 5, I build strong and trusting relationships with them and their families. I work over 50 hours a week because I love what I do, and I stay up on professional development and training, even going beyond what is required. 

I applaud the investments Vermont has made to make childcare more accessible and affordable. When I first learned about the bill to professionalize early childhood educators, I was concerned because I, too, thought it would push many providers out of the field. But I also wanted my fellow home educators and myself to have recognition and respect for our work.

Earlier this year I advocated to the legislature for a legacy license for existing family childcare home providers so that we can be recognized as professionals without having to earn additional degrees. I am proud to say that advocacy was successful and included an amendment to the bill passed by the Senate. I now support professionalization with this amendment, because it has all the pieces to both recognize and retain our current family home childcare educators.

Remembering Ralph

I really enjoyed the great tribute to Ralph DesLauriers, written by Mary Ann Lickteig [Life Story: “Bolton Valley Founder Ralph DesLauriers Was ‘the Eternal Optimist,’” November 12.]

Almost as soon as our kids could walk, we had them on skis at Bolton Valley. We spent every weekend for many, many years skiing with other families and friends at the mountain. The school ski program was also instrumental in allowing kids the opportunity to learn to ski and enhanced their lives in many ways. Ralph always made sure the mountain was affordable for young families who wanted to enjoy long winters spending time with their kids in the outdoors, even though it wasn’t always financially advantageous to him. His sacrifices allowed many generations of families to experience the benefits of skiing and riding at Bolton Valley.

Our kids idolized his sons Adam, Evan and Rob, and we still have a large autographed poster of them on the wall in our attic. We had all we could do to keep them out of the woods and thankfully never had the same conversation with the ski patrol that Ralph had.

Our family will always be very grateful to Ralph for his commitment to young people and families in Vermont and for allowing us the opportunity to have lifelong memories of skiing at Bolton Valley.

Celebrate and Mourn

[Re “Sterling College to Close in 2026,” November 13, online]: We love Sterling College and everything it has accomplished over the years. One employee said to me, “All those years down the drain.” My response was, “Absolutely not!”

The lives of almost all students and their families, faculty, staff, board members, and members of the community were enriched by Sterling’s efforts and presence in the beautiful place that is Craftsbury Common in the Northeast Kingdom.

Let us celebrate — even while we mourn.

Quit ‘Fearmongering’

This play and many other media are participating in the fearmongering about President Donald Trump [“Vermont Theaters Join National Resistance Movement,” November 14, online]. The Americans who voted for him don’t grasp how his determined minimizing of government supports the perception of him as a dictator. Yes, he is being very forceful, but conservatives see all that energy being devoted to restoring more personal freedom for more people, including retaining more of our earned personal income. We see President Trump’s astonishing energy simply as what is required to overturn decades of unnecessary government interference in our lives. He’s a bull, but the U.S. government, U.S. media and U.S. education are a huge China shop of pretty far-left ideology, and maybe a determined bull like Trump is what is needed.

This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2 2025.