The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-06-23
VERMONT CHARACTERISTICS
As They Are Explained to Boston Globe
BY Rutland Herald.

by RulldnQ heTdlQs
Evidently the ED Points" man of the
Boston Globe reads Vermont newspapers.
Here are three reflections in row taken
from yesterdays issue:
"Can the Vermont farmers who are
asking So and $3.50 a gallon for maple
syrup afford to use any of it themselves?
Properly spent, the 81 100000 that
Vermont is going to put into the states
highways this summer will bring consid
erably more than that into the state.
up in Vermont village the neigh
bors of a Mrs. Peake undertook to give
her surprise party on her Seth birth
day anniversary, but when they arrived
they found that Mrs. Peake, being a sub
scriber for the telephone service, knew
all about it,"
|. If The Globe man will step into
Vermont kitchen Just before breakfast
or dinner or supper he will discover that
the natives certainly use sugar and syrup
themselves and that there are ways and
methods of preparing the delectable stuff
that the city man probably never
dreamed of
Griddle cakes drenched in maple syrup
is standard Vermont dish that causes
many an exiled Green Mountaineer to
wake up crying in the night when he
dreams thereof Indian pudding, served
hot with melted maple sugar, is another
combination that has the elements of
Sybarite luxury, while maple sugar cake
is confeetion that the urban pastry
cook vainly seeks to emulate.
Yes, Mr.. Edpointer, Vermonters use
syrup, despite the fact that some of
them have been known to sell their but
ter and take home a nut butter substi-
tute. So far, no one has accused Yer
monters of selling maple sugar and syrup
and then taking home molasses or brown
sugar as substitutes.
2. Highways problem" The best
judges admit that, but, with government
specifications TO 90 by and government
aid financially, it will be up to- our
state officials to spend our million and
half or thereabout of highway money
to good advantage this summer.
The Herald has a notion that some
good highway will be made and that
some better methods of repair and main
tenance will be inaugurated. That, at
least is what the people expect after
hUt itDtlhl appropriations VI Jnt
ture and its determination to leave the
entire matter in the hands o. the gov
ernor.
3. A true touch--we admit it. Yet it
suggests a kindly picture of the gentle
Mrs. Peake, with her arm chair moved
comfortably up to the rural telephone
and the receiver held firmly to her ear,
primed for her daily feast of gossip over
the party line.
smile passes over her face as she
learns that Johnny Smith and Matte
Jones are planning a hivver ride to town
and the movies. She is interested in the
sick folks at the Perkinses, and the news
that Sammy Haskins has returned from
overseas is probably a week or 10 days
ahead of what the local correspondent
sends TO "the paper"
Then comes dialogue between two
of the chief plotters of the surprise
party A look of wonderment passes
over Ma Peake's features, She looks
gratifed, then fattered, then breaks
forth into ripping smiles as the details
of the party are guardedly discussed.
Trust her to read between the lines
The only unreal touch about il is the
fact that somehow or other the fact be-
came known that Ma Peake had over
heard the planning. The natural thing
would have been for the surprise party
to have arrived as per schedule and
found the Peake household in a state
Of unnatural calm, perhaps, with every
thing secured, swept and busted within
an inch of its existence, but with the
chief surprisee overwhelmed with aston
ishment and desolated with chagrin be.
cause things looked So 1t has hap
pened
The Globe man has touched off some
of our characteristics with more or
less tentative hand. What he ought to
do is TO come to Vermont and get up
surprise party Of his own for HIS own
benefit Then he would realize how
sketchy and incomplete his outline pic
lures are.
It would be we'll worth his while
Rutland Herald,