Heidi,  If I ever see her!--some weeks it seems as though we live together!
Lyssa and I are up to our eyeballs together in this store building--and
have been for 2 years.

This project all started in 2008, actually in May '08, when the Putney
General Store, thought to be the oldest continuously operating general
store in Vermont, had a fire.  The man who owned it was unable to get the
necessary funding to repair the building so it sat all summer,
water-logged, open to the elements.  In the fall Lyssa sent out an e-mail
to board members of the Putney Historical Society saying that she felt the
society could buy the building, restore it, and lease it to an operator.
We had meetings, decided to go for it and bought it that winter.  We got
grants to help, and many donations from local individuals and groups.  I
got very involved because I am interested in old buildings and am also
retired so I had time to attend weekly meetings to help with decisions.  We
had a LOT of help from Paul Bruhn of Preservation Trust of Vermont, I hope
that's the official name of that group.  He is a real cheerleader with the
"of course you can do it" attitude.  We hired a contractor, things
progressed nicely through the winter, spring, summer of 2009.  The building
was closed in, structural work completed and we hired an architect to do
interior design work, oh yes, in the meantime we found a couple with a lot
of experience to lease the store.

THEN, at 10:30 PM on Sunday, Nov. 1st, 2009 FIRE hit again.  I don't think
I will ever forget sitting here sipping my evening drink and reading e-mail
when I hear on my police scanner "First alarm fire at Putney General
Store!"  It quickly went to second alarm and I can't repeat here what I
said as I jumped out of my chair and threw on some clothes and my husband
and I drove to the scene.  We got there just in time to see the last of the
building fall into the cellar.  Yes, it was arson, no the perpetrator has
not been caught, YET!!!!!

On Monday evening, Nov. 2, 2009 the building committee had a meeting.  The
question was, of course, "What Now?"  I said, "We've got to rebuild, we
can't let this person have his/her own way."  After much fund-raising,
grant tweeking, etc.  we now have the frame up and work is going forward
with our new store.  This would certainly not have happened if not for
Lyssa Papazian and her vision for Putney General Store.

I think this is the longest e-mail I have ever written and now my brain is
tired.  Ruth


At 9:01 PM -0500 1/27/11, [log in to unmask] wrote:
Great video!

Ruth-- if you ever see Lyssa Papazian, please give her my regards. I am
acquainted with her from when we both worked in New Jersey. It's wonderful
to see this project happening!

-Heidi Harendza



-- 
Ruth Barton
[log in to unmask]
Dummerston, VT

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