Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1911-06-23

own hearts we believe that we adore
Nature and we mean to devote great
deal of attention to her sometime when
we are able, in fact, we think that
Bryant must have had in mind a man
! lust like ourselves when he wrote the
opening lines of Thanatopsis. Since we
must make beginning somewhere, let
us take up that long continued case of
the Green Mountain VS. The People of
Vermont, and see if we can make a
defense against the allegations of neg
lect, deserton, abandonment, and non
support.
Mountains are generally loved by the
people, witness the annual influx of
visitors to the Catskill, Adirondack,
and White Mountains, also to the re-
sorts of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny
Mountains which has been going on in
increasing numbers for years. These
resorts, by long continuance, advertise
ment, and literature have reached and
appealed to an enormous number OF
people and were not seriously affected
by the diversion of the people into new
lines of sport.
AS the pelican tears flesh from its
own breast to feed its hungry fiedg-
lings, so Mother Nature has furnished
from her broad bosom the substance
which has weaned her children from her
mountain pleasures. Open an unused
volume of fifty years ago, and note the
autumn leaves, ferns and wild flowers
between its pages, which were pressed
and put away as periodically as the
family preserves and pickles. Fern
patterns in ''spatter work" still lurk in
the dark corners of the attics. The
people were moved to tears by such
melodies as "Lorena" and Don't You
Remember Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt. "
The woods and mountains made the
scenic background necessary to the
spirit of the times. Every mountain
resort worthy of serious consideration
had Lovers Leap, a Robbers Cave,
and Waterfall. A peak was not all
| lIdI IL SHOulU NC ullIll d oulllloC ileth
been greeted from its summit, no mat
ter what the discomforts of the camp of
the preceding night. Fifty years ago
the people not only lifted their eyes un-
to the mountains, but on slight occa-
sion also lifted their bodies. When the
hotel on top of Mt. Moosilauke, N. H.,
was opened in the late SOS one thousand
people were present at the exercises
and they had walked up the mountain
1t is hard to conceive of any occasion
that would draw thousand people up
mountain 1900 feet high today. No
matter what the motive, romantic, SEN
timental or scientific, the people of that
day loved their mountains, gloried in
them and, best of all, used them. We
have left as evidence of the enthusiasm
of the Vermont people of that day.
roads to their bases and trails up few
peaks, an abandoned hotel at Killington
Peak and a hotel on the summit of Mt.
Mansfield which was an annex to a
large hotel at Stowe that ran very sue
cessfully until destroyed by fire in the
early 70's.
We now beg to introduce to the
people of Vermont, at home and abroad,
the Green Mountain club the first or
ganization formed for the express pur-
pose of developing and exploiting the
Green Mountains.
James p. Taylor, associate principal
of Vermont academy at SaXtons River,
must receive all of the credit for call
ing this club into existence. Mr.. Tay-
lor understands the human boy right
down to the ground, and knows how to
direct his exuberant energy into pur-
suits which are profitable to both mind
and body. Mt Ascutney, the nearest
peak to the school is worn with trails
from the varied ascents of the student
body of Vermont academy, and they
have also taken many ''hikes" over the
neighboring country with climbs of
more distant peaks.
In vacation time, Mr.. Taylor has
climbed all over our main peaks, meet
ling with some misadventures due to
poor trails, and the lack of trails sank
in deeply. Some further experience in
rain storms showed him the need of
camps, aod to stand on any peak and
look over the unopened mountains was
to behold wasted opportunity. To talk
with the people of Vermont was to dis
cover an apathy concerning the noun
tains almost incredible.
With these four facts in his mind,
Mr.. Taylor did not content himself with
writing scolding letters to the news
papers, nor did he wait to hitch his
wagon to a star, but hooked on to the
first thing that was travelling in his di-
rection. Finding some fellow enthus-
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