This Week in History December 10 - 16

10 years ago
The Wilmington Selectboard approved $9,500 in 1% local option tax funding for the installation of decorative rope lighting on the exterior of Wilmington Town Hall. The project was intended to highlight the building’s historic architectural detail and provide a focal point in the village. Once installed, however, the lights came under fire from local residents who complained that the lights were too bright and created a garish, carnival-like atmosphere in the village. Some joked that it was so bright it could easily be seen from outer space, and might attract curious aliens.
15 years ago
Mount Snow held a film festival featuring 10 films on winter sports. The films were shown at three venues around the valley, including the Snow Barn, Mountain Park Cinema, and Memorial Hall.
State police were investigating the shooting death of two men in Readsboro. According to initial reports, a 47-year-old Readsboro man shot and killed his 69-year-old father following an argument, before turning the gun on himself.
20 years ago
More than 100 Whitingham and Wilmington residents turned out to discuss a proposal to build a new Twin Valley High School facility. Many residents were concerned about the location of the proposed school near the Wilmington/Whitingham town line. Some were concerned about the tax implications of the proposed $17.1 million facility, with one Wilmington resident pointing out that school taxes had already gone up by 65% over the previous six years.
Chef Lonnie Paige, who ran local favorite restaurant Alonzo’s for 14 years, came out of his “semi-retirement” to become the Whitingham School Cafeteria Supervisor. The school was already known for having shed the “mystery meat” stereotype two years earlier when it hired another well-respected chef to head up the kitchen. Paige’s school lunch offerings had students and teachers flocking to the school cafeteria.
25 years ago
Jill Adams Mancivalano appeared on CBS’ “The Early Show” to promote southern-Vermont-made products including cheese, maple syrup, cider, quilts, and more. Her appearance included a cooking demonstration, although she had prepared homemade maple candy, maple fondue, and half a dozen homemade maple walnut pies before leaving for the show’s New York studio.
A Wilmington committee formed to look at a noise ordinance to reduce impact of noise from “jake” brakes recommended against a regulation.
Dot’s Ahoy opened in West Dover. The new restaurant, owned and operated by Patty and John Reagan, specialized in fish ‘n’ chips and other traditional fast food meals.
30 years ago
After 20 years of discussions about a “Wilmington bypass” that would alleviate traffic noise and congestion in Wilmington village, proponents of the plan said the process was bogged down by too many options. The state agency of transportation was concerned that their $448,000 contract with a consulting firm to study a bypass might go up because the number of options had increased from five to 13. One AOT official remarked that there had been “a lot more community involvement” than the AOT had anticipated.
Two Alaska legislators, Rep. Don Young and Sen. Frank Murkowski, were pushing a bill that would require the US Forest Service to sell government land to any interested ski resort. Vermont congressman Bernie Sanders worked to defeat the measure.
35 years ago
Local hunter Richard Phelps was featured on the front cover of The Deerfield Valley News with a prize-winning 10-point buck he took in Readsboro on the last day of hunting season. (This November, Phelps, now 88, took a 412-pound moose, see Vol. 20, Issue 45, November 11-17.)
The new post office at the Mountain Park Plaza in West Dover opened. The old post office, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, began as a general store in 1827 before becoming the post office in 1870.
Flaminia Zeman was accepted as a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. Zeman joined about 3,000 other professional hypnotists in the organization.
40 years ago
Two people were arrested for littering after they were caught throwing a discarded vehicle engine into Beaver Brook from Beaver Brook Park (now Buzzy Towne Park). Snow Valley Auto was called to remove the engine from the brook and place it back in the offenders’ vehicle.
Grampy’s convenience store in West Dover was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who drilled two holes in their yet-to-be-installed 2,000-gallon underground kerosene tank. The 1/8-inch holes were discovered when the installation company pressure-tested the tank.
45 years ago
Thousands of skiers flocked to the valley to take advantage of the season’s first major snow storm, which dumped 12 inches on southern Vermont. According to Mount Snow, the lights on their central reservations switchboard “started coming on like bulbs on a Christmas tree” before the storm was over.
William Douglas, of Wilmington, was hired to head up the Haystack Ski School. Douglas had been the director of the Hogback Area Ski School since 1975. Joining Douglas was Abbot “Topper” VanBacker Jr., who was to lead the Haystack racing team.
55 years ago
The old wooden grandstand at Baker Field in Wilmington had become such a safety hazard that no insurance firm would agree to cover it. The Wilmington Fire Department collapsed the roof and set the structure ablaze. The grandstand had served as the site of countless events over several decades, including several Old Home Week celebrations.
A group including Peter Diamondstone, of Brattleboro, formed a new political party called Liberty Union. According to a report at the time, the party came into being when a group of “dissident liberal Democrats” charged that they had been excluded from the Democratic ranks for what was regarded as unorthodox viewpoints.