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 -- **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>